I am a grad student at FIS U of Toronto in a rare books course and trying to compose an exhibition on books published about China in the US from the Civil War to the Cold War. Finding some good bibliographic materials but fail to know how to capture the significance of select volumes as they were introduced to America. For example, My Life in China and America by Yung Wing seems significant being the autobiography first Chinese graduate of a US university (Yale, and his donation of his library to them was the first instance of a East Asian collection in America).
As I go down the list of political, historical, narrative and art books over this hundred year period are there resources I could consult to evaluate the impact or value of each work in the context of the publishing or reading world? Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
(My only previous post was last Fall before interviewing Richard Landon here at Thomas Fisher Rare Books and this community was very helpful in advising me of pathways and criteria for becoming a rare book librarian. Thanks.) Peace, Bill