SIGNED WITH SCARCE DUST JACKET — LIMEHOUSE NIGHTS —By Thomas Burke, Early Edition 1927 HC/DJ — Scarce Signed Copy with Rare Dust Jacket: Chinese and English Racism and Sexual Relations in Early 20th Century London Publisher: Cassell and Co. Ltd., London (1927)
Rare, signed copy of "Limehouse Nights" by Thomas Burke with scarce dust jacket; early edition from 1927. The book is in exceedingly well preserved condition with solid, tight boards and binding and very light shelfwear. The pages are crisp and clean save for foxing on the front and back endpapers. Signed on the first blank page along with with previous owner's name. The scarce dust jacket is in poor condition but still holds the book firmly. "
Limehouse Nights" is a 1916 short story collection by the British writer Thomas Burke. The
stories are set in and around the Chinatown that was then centered on the Limehouse district in the East End of London. The book was initially banned by circulating
libraries, not only on grounds of general immorality, but also for the
scandalous interracial relationships portrayed between Chinese men and white
women. Set during World War I, in a declining British Empire, Limehouse Nights
aggravated already present anxieties. Please see below for more information on Thomas Burke.
Thomas Burke (29
November 1886 – 22 September 1945) was a British author. He was born in Eltham,
London. His first
successful publication was Limehouse Nights (1916), a collection of stories
centred on life in the poverty-stricken Limehouse district of London. Many of
Burke's books feature the Chinese character Quong Lee as narrator. In 1915, Burke
published Nights in Town: A London Autobiography, which featured his
descriptions of working-class London nightlife including the essay, 'A Chinese
Night, Limehouse'. However, it was not
until the publication of Limehouse Nights in 1916 that he obtained any
substantial acclaim as an author. This collection of melodramatic short
stories, set in a lower-class environment populated by Chinese immigrants, was
published in three British periodicals, which helped to earn Burke a reputation
as "the laureate of London's Chinatown". Burke's writing also
influenced contemporary popular forms of entertainment, such as the nascent
film industry. Indeed, D. W. Griffith used the short story "The Chink and
the Child" from Limehouse Nights as the basis for his popular silent film
Broken Blossoms (1919)... [Wikipedia]
