vi2 In the colophon of the book, written in Japanese, an individual of American nationality named I. G. Prince (米國人アイ、ジー、プリンス) is credited as the editor. However, the identity of this person and how he or she was involved in the making of the book remains a cmplete mystery.3 https://www.lab.twcu.ac.jp/~icsc/collection/chirimen/0021.html; images of the second edition in the notes of following pages are all taken from this digital book.ery as the second volume in the Red Cross Library Series.2 This book, too, was reissued in the following year. In the description of the Red Cross Library Series added in the second edi-tion, the Bowleses explained why they chose to work again with Hasegawa for the produc-tion of their books. They believed that the Japanese style of illustrations, characteristically “being at once simple and harmonious,” perfectly aligned with the series’ goal of providing easily readable books about different countries and peoples. As such, A Nile Voyage of Recovery is not a serious scholarly writing on the Nile River or Egypt but rather a lighthearted tourist memoir in a sort of impressionist style that reflects on the one hand the faith of authors and, on the other hand, the common knowledge and sensibilities of the late-nineteenth-century Western elite class. The Bowleses’ voyage starts when they meet a depressed young American nicknamed “the Commodore” who is in need of leaving bustling Cairo to treat his nerves. This encounter provides the couple, then serv-ing for the “Red Cross and Crescent,” with a convenient excuse to embark on a journey, accompanying the patient and an English friend. This context explains the inclusion of the word “recovery” in the title, although the mental state of the patient seems to fade from the Bowleses’ concerns until the very final chapter. Setting off from Helwan, a suburb of Cairo, their dahabieh boat takes them southward along the Nile River to Asyut, Abydos, up until Luxor, and then back downstream (see figures of the 1935 guide map). The sceneries and people they observe on and off board along the way are described sympathetically at times, though other times there is a note of scorn. Among other things, the grandiose monuments of Ancient Egypt amuse the authors and at one point even prompt them to indulge in a daydream about the lost civilization. While both Charles and Susan are credited as authors, the story is consistently narrated from Susan’s perspective. Today, one can easily find a copy of the 1896 second edition of A Nile Voyage of Recovery in library collections or on the rare book market. But the same cannot be said for the 1895 first edition. Even the digital archive of Chirimen-bon Collection at the Institute for Comparative Studies of Culture, Tokyo Woman’s Christian University, covers only the second edition.3 Hasegawa typically limited the number of copies produced at any one time to only five hundred per title to minimize the inventory cost. Nonetheless, considering the
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