Gustav Spiess

Die Preussische Expedition nach Ostasien während der Jahre 1860-1862. Reiseskizzen aus Japan, China, Siam und der indischen Inselwelt.

Berlin & Leipzig: Otto Spamer,, 1864. X+[1]+428 pp. With wood engraved frontispiece, 8 wood engraved plates, and 111 wood engravings in text (8 single leaf). (243 x 150 mm). Half calf with worn corners. With an Ex Libris and a withdrawn stamp. In good codition.

An account of the Eulenburg expedition conducted by Friedrich Albrecht zu Eulenburg on behalf of Prussia and the German Customs Union with the aim of establishing diplomatic and commercial relations with China, Japan, and Thailand.

"With the opening of the Far East to foreign trade, Prussia sought to claim a stake in the region" (Howgego). Gustav Adolf Spiess (1802-1875) was a physician for the expedition, which arrived in Sri Lanka in July 1860, and consisted of three warships from the Prussian East Asian Squadron, one of which was lost in a typhoon outside Yokohama on 5 September 1860. Spiess details these events, the expedition's movements in Japan, China, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and Thailand, and the various regional economic and social conditions they encounter.”