London, Harper Collins Pub, 1993. first edition - h/c in d.j. In 1842, as a condition of the Treaty of Nanking, signed at the conclusion of the so-called Opium War, a 'barren island' near the mouth of the Pearl River was ceded by China to Britain. Reluctant as the Chinese were to hand over even so minuscule a portion of the Celestial Empire, the British were scarcely more enthusiastic about the new acquisition. 24 x 15.7cm., map end/p., pp. xv + 624, map & b/w plates, append., notes, biblio., index, contents VG+/ d.j. FINE