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Item RB0245
Product Description
Read Steve's blog on why we published this book.
Click here to read some excerpts.
Journey to a land found only in memory.
Though we can readily travel to China today, it remains a country of hidden histories. How much more might have been lost had not the Scottish explorer John Thomson embarked on a photographic journey of China in the late 1800s. His mesmerizing photographs and stories are all the more remarkable given his subjects' deeply held superstitions about cameras.
The Inmost Shrine is a digitally remastered facsimile of Thomson's work, lovingly produced with the help of the George Eastman House museum. For this collector's edition, we were able to enlarge many of Thomson's portraits for the first time, uncovering extraordinary detail heretofore hidden. We then enhanced the text with rich gold coloring and bound it in a brilliant Chinese-red linen with gold foil. This is a grandly sized, coffee-table book of history—the better to savor, as the modern-day explorer Michael Meyer says in his new foreword, this "glimpse of the Great Middle Kingdom." Only from Levenger.
Click here to read some excerpts.
Journey to a land found only in memory.
Though we can readily travel to China today, it remains a country of hidden histories. How much more might have been lost had not the Scottish explorer John Thomson embarked on a photographic journey of China in the late 1800s. His mesmerizing photographs and stories are all the more remarkable given his subjects' deeply held superstitions about cameras.
The Inmost Shrine is a digitally remastered facsimile of Thomson's work, lovingly produced with the help of the George Eastman House museum. For this collector's edition, we were able to enlarge many of Thomson's portraits for the first time, uncovering extraordinary detail heretofore hidden. We then enhanced the text with rich gold coloring and bound it in a brilliant Chinese-red linen with gold foil. This is a grandly sized, coffee-table book of history—the better to savor, as the modern-day explorer Michael Meyer says in his new foreword, this "glimpse of the Great Middle Kingdom." Only from Levenger.
Why co-founder Steve Leveen loves this book...
Ironic that our pictures don't do justice to this historic picture book—first off, its scale. When I first saw the book, I joked that with four legs it could be a table. The sheer beauty of the book, including its royal red cloth covers, luscious paper and fine typography, almost overwhelms...that is, until you begin to gaze at the photos and read the enchanting tales of a China long ago. A breakthrough gift for lovers of the Far East, photography, and history.
—Steve
Thank you for doing good in the world of reading
When you purchase this Levenger Partnering for Good product, know that you're doing good in the world for readers. Through this program, we support the libraries, museums and other cherished institutions that nurture reading.
- Limited first edition of 2,500 copies—order early
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Some of the first photographs of China ever taken, from the 1860s
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One of the world's first examples of photojournalism
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50+ images, each with a story
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Some portrait photos have been enlarged for the first time, revealing extraordinary detail
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A new foreword by Michael Meyer, author of the popular book The Last Days of Old Beijing
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Ideal gift book for photography buffs, history buffs and armchair travelers
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Created in collaboration with the George Eastman House
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Bound in a brilliant Chinese-red linen with gold foil
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Grandly sized at 11 x 14
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168 pages on high-quality cream paper
- Not in the bookstores, only at Levenger