Modern Java in Action

About the cover illustration

The figure on the cover of Java in Action is captioned “Habit of a Mandarin of War in Chinese Tartary in 1700.” The Mandarin’s habit is ornately decorated, and he is carrying a sword and a bow and quiver on his back. If you look carefully at his belt, you will find a lambda buckle (added by our designer as a wink at one of the topics of this book). The illustration is taken from Thomas Jefferys’ A Collection of the Dresses of Different Nations, Ancient and Modern, London, published between 1757 and 1772. The title page states that these are hand-colored copperplate engravings, heightened with gum Arabic. Thomas Jefferys (1719–1771) was called “Geographer to King George III.” He was an English cartographer who was ...