Books

First edition, first printing, inscribed by the author on the half-title of Volume I, "William H. Ukers, New York, Jan. 31. 1940". This encyclopaedic treatment of tea's history and consumption contains 1,700 illustrations and 54 chapters, and it remains the authoritative work on the subject. Ukers (1873-1945) founded the Tea and Coffee Trade Journal in 1901 and spent almost all of his professional life researching tea's history. He also wrote a history of coffee, for which he was awarded a gold medal at the 1923 Brazilian Centennial Exposition. The publisher's folding advertisement is loosely inserted in Volume I. Two vols, quarto. Original green vertically ribbed cloth, spines and front covers lettered in gilt, front covers with decorative teapot vignette in gilt and blind double panel, decorative map endpapers. With dust jackets. Frontispieces (vol. I in colour), hundreds of illustrations in text. New York ownership inscription of Charles Gilman Tufts (1880-1978), a businessman, on the half-title. Cloth and contents clean, jacket flaps without price as issued, toned and scuffed, small losses to spines, recent archival tape repairs on versos: fine copies in very good jackets.

All About Tea by William Harrison Ukers is a comprehensive guide that delves into the history, culture, and trade of tea around the world.