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Special Edition for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition
Offered here is an original 1915 Japan: Imperial Government Railways — Travelers’ Handy Guide, published in Tokyo by the Traffic Department of the Imperial Government Railways. This is the special edition prepared for the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition held in San Francisco.
This is a particularly desirable early Japanese travel and railway guide combining railroad history, tourism, period photography, maps, fares, routes, and practical information for foreign travelers visiting Japan. The book was produced in an attractive Japanese-style format with illustrated wrappers and purple cord binding.
This edition is now scarce and hard to find, particularly when complete with its maps, folding material, plates, and original tissue guards still present.
The book contains 62 numbered pages in addition to numerous plates and supplemental material. Reference descriptions of this edition identify photographic plates, map plates, railway diagrams, two folding railway tables, and a large folding color railway map at the rear. Many of the photographic plates were originally protected by thin translucent captioned tissue guards.
Completeness: I carefully inspected this copy page by page. No pages appear to be missing, torn, or removed. The folding maps and tables are present, including the large folding material shown in the photographs. The original translucent tissue guards associated with the illustrated plates are also present. This is important because these fragile supplemental pieces are often the first components lost or damaged in books of this age.
The contents include information about the Imperial Government Railways, railroad routes throughout Japan, fares and passenger services, transportation connections, suggested tours, accommodations, major tourist destinations, historic sites, Japanese customs, and practical information for travelers. Period photographs and illustrations depict Mount Fuji, Hakone, Atami, rail travel, landscapes, cities, and other Japanese locations.
The title page features crossed United States and Japanese flags and identifies this as the 1915 Special Edition for the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.
Condition: Used antique condition with remarkably good completeness for a book dating from 1915. The illustrated paper wrappers show age-related toning, rubbing, handling wear, edge and corner wear, and scattered marks. The original purple Japanese-style binding cords remain present but are heavily frayed from age. Interior pages show expected age toning and scattered foxing/spotting. An old pencil notation is present near the upper portion of the title page. No attempt has been made to erase or alter it. The folding material has been handled but remains present. No major tears or missing pages were found during inspection.
The rear cover bears the Imperial Government Railways Traffic Department, Tokyo identification associated with this publication.
This is an excellent piece for collectors of Japanese railroad history, early tourism, Panama-Pacific International Exposition memorabilia, San Francisco exposition material, pre-World War I travel, Japanese ephemera, antique maps, or early twentieth-century transportation history.
The photographs show the exact book you will receive. Please review all photographs carefully, particularly the binding cords, covers, interior foxing, maps, foldouts, and pencil notation.
MAD Mercantile — Carefully Researched. Accurately Described.
