NEW YORK -- In the sesquicentennial of U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's visit to Japan, I am happy to imagine that I must be one of the few owners of the original edition of his report: "Narrative of the Expedition of an American Squadron to the China Seas and Japan, Performed in the Years 1852, 1853, and 1854, under the Command of Commodore M.C. Perry, United States Navy."
The 624-page book, published in 1857 by D. Appleton and Company with "numerous illustrations," is a reminder of the kind of loving bookmaking once taken for granted in this country. It is heavy, sturdy and beautifully designed.
It is a magnificent narrative graced with keen observation and empathy. One incident described, in particular, has fascinated me ever since an American businessman kindly sold the book to me "for one-third of its market value." It is the encounter between Perry, "the Old Bruin," then 60, and Yoshida Shoin, the young nationalist, then 23.