"The Chinese Ink Stick", Travel and Adventure Library for Young Folks, Text and illustrations by Kurt Wiese, published by Doubleday and Doran, New York in 1939, copyright 1929, later printing of the first edition.

"Chapter I. THE WELL OF HEAVENLY WISDOM.--

Rain is pouring down and I am lying in the middle of the wet road. Sqish - squash - squish -- go the feet of the coolies carrying their burdens, Then with a whining noise comes a massive wooden wheel and digs itself deep into the soft ground. I am there right on the spot..."

Kurt Wiese [1887 in Minden, Germany - 1974, Idell, New Jersey], nonfiction writer, painter. Illustrator, Kurt Wiese was incredibly prolific, illustrating over 300 children's books, by authors such as Zane Grey and Rudyard Kipling. His most well known work are the illustrations for the original Bambi book. Wiese wrote and illustrated many children's books himself, winning the Caldecott Medal for Children's Literature twice.

German-born Wiese traveled in China selling merchandise as a young man. On the outbreak of WWI, he was captured by the Japanese, and turned over to the British. He spent five years as a prisoner, most of them in Australia, where his fascination for the animal life inspired him to start sketching. Completely self-taught, upon his return to Germany he worked for an animated film company for several years, where he developed the innovation of completing drawings on transparent material to avoid redrawing the background with every frame. He began his own story writing and illustration during this time, and continued with it during three years in Brazil before coming to America. Already well-known, his career burgeoned here, his travels serving as the basis for many of his works.

US: Priority (c 2-4 days) ---- $7.50
Canada: Priority (c 1-6 weeks) -- $25.50
World: Priority (c 1-8 weeks) --- $35.50

Hard boards, original publisher's cloth with past-down illustrations on both boards [some surface wear, small dent on the front board], 5.3/4" x 8.1/4"; 199 pages, 4 color plates, 11 b/w plates + many text illustrations and decorations, very good binding and condition.