A Journey to the Tea Countries of China;
Fortune, Robert.
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Book Id: 5706
Description
Fortune, Robert. A Journey to the Tea Countries of China; Including Sung-Lo and the Bohea Hills; with a Short Notice of the East India Company's Tea Plantations in the Himalaya Mountains. John Murray, London 1852, 1st edition. 8vo, xv, (1), 398pp & 32 pp ads. 17 plts incl. hand colored map, engraved title page & 2 col. lithograph plates. Damp to top of 1st 2 pages, some ink on rear foredge, couple of margins chipped. A tight copy in orig. gilt lettered & decorated green cloth, expertly rebacked with the orig. spine. A very nice copy. Fortune was the first plant collector to travel in China after the conclusion of the Opium War. Because travel was limited for foreigners, Fortune disguised himself as a native and learned Chinese tea growing methods, which lead directly to the establishment of the tea industry in India. He was one of the greatest 19th century plant hunters, discovering anemones, chrysanthemums, jasmine, forsythia, honeysuckle, etc, many named after him. Cordier Sinica p. 2116. Noling p. 160.
