Gifts for the Chinese Emperor in 1816

Gifts for Emperor of China

Loretta reports:

This article in the January 1816 Ackermann’s Repository caught my attention for several reasons.  First, it was fascinating to consider the array of toiletry articles and other domestic articles, the scents available, the claims for the products, and, the sheer number of items this gift comprised.  Second, having recently read a review of a book about the the Opium Wars and England’s relationship with China in the 19th century, I was interested in the East India Company’s approach to “establishing ... commercial relations with that country upon a more solid basis.”

Gifts description

                                                                                       

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