Beautifully preserved fine binding first edition in custom book box of the life of Koizumi Yakumo, i.e. Lafcadio Hearn, of Japan.
Koizumi Yakumo (小泉 八雲, 27 June 1850 – 26 September 1904), born Patrick Lafcadio Hearn (/hɜːrn/; Greek: Πατρίκιος Λευκάδιος Χέρν, romanized: Patríkios Lefkádios Chérn, Irish: Pádraig Lafcadio O'hEarain), was a Irish-Greek writer, translator, and teacher who introduced the culture and literature of Japan to the West. His writings offered unprecedented insight into Japanese culture, especially his collections of legends and ghost stories, such as Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things. Before moving to Japan and becoming a Japanese citizen, he worked as a journalist in the United States, primarily in Cincinnati and New Orleans. His writings about New Orleans, based on his decade-long stay there, are also well-known.
Hearn was born on the Greek island of Lefkada, after which a complex series of conflicts and events led to his being moved to Dublin, where he was abandoned first by his mother, then his father, and finally by his father's aunt (who had been appointed his official guardian). At the age of 19, he emigrated to the United States, where he found work as a newspaper reporter, first in Cincinnati and later in New Orleans. From there, he was sent as a correspondent to the French West Indies, where he stayed for two years, and then to Japan, where he would remain for the rest of his life.
The present edition, in custom book box, also produced 1912, was the property of Crosby Gaige, American author, theatre producer, and today best remembered for his influence in the world of cocktails, which he helped again to re-popularize after the end of prohibition. He created the arsenic and old lace and his books on fine dining, cuisine, entertaining, and cocktails, can fetch some whopping sums these days.
Kennard, Nina H. Lafcadio Hearn. Containing Some Letters from Lafcadio Hearn to his Half-Sister, Mrs. Atkinson. New York. D. Appleton and Company. 1912. First American Edition. 356pp.
Contents include mention of James Abbott McNeill Whistler, Yashiki Garden, Yone Noguchi, West Indies, Tokyo, Shinto Worship, Shadowings, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Osaka, Nishi Sentaro, New Orleans, Nagasaki, Jiu Jitsu, etc. etc.
Housed in a fine quarter leather book box in finest quality with raised bands, etc. Minor rubbing, light discoloring to burgundy book cloth. Interior book very good, mull exposed at interior front and rear hinge. Superbly preserved overall.
