The well traveled book

[MeneerDijk]

Last month, during my vacation in Dallas, Shamu and I visited a huge bookstore named 'half-priced books' Since they have an excellent selection of books, and a nice airco, we started looking for Dutch books for fun. In the language selection we came across this book:
http://img272.imageshack.us/img272/6974/frontcoveryr8.jpg

For only $3 it was too cheap not to get, so Shamu bought it for me :D It's a Dutch language lesson book. The oldness of it intrigued me, the Dutch in it is 'ye olde' I'm trying to find a little more info about it to determine it's true age since there's no press date in it. My guess is that it's printed somewhere between 1930 and 1950.

http://img427.imageshack.us/img427/6292/markingux9.jpg

It has a very vague marking in it wich is hard to read, but i think it says:Kelly and Walsh, wich is a British book store in Hong Kong (http://www.swindonbooks.com/AboutUs.asp)

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/3861/showashotenbookstorere2.jpg
Somehow it made a detour through Japan before coming to America according to the marking in the back of the book.

http://img330.imageshack.us/img330/7808/redstamplr0.jpg

http://img336.imageshack.us/img336/2498/bluestamppt9.jpg
I'm hoping anyone can translate these markings for me, hopefully to determine it's actual age.

I might try and hit the bookstore up with an e-mail, but i'd like to gather as many clues as possible first

Ideas anyone?

*edited for spelling, thanks babe :)

[NERD]

I cannot decipher the Chinese characters in the first stamp, but the second stamp seems to indicate the reference number used within the store, and the third stamp a simple mark for Showa Shoten.

I think it is a lot easier to look for the publisher, Hugo's Language Institute, to determine the date of publication.

http://www.oldcornerbooks.com/cgi-bin/fgb455/21381.html

Seems like your guess of 1930's-1950's seems to be right on the money.

[羽之助]

First stamp:
南満州鐵道株式會社東亞經濟調査局 something 書 something something

South Manchurian Railway Stock Company East Asian Economic Survey Office something book/to write something something.

Minami Manshuu Tetsudou Kabushiki Kaisha Toua Keizai Chousa Kyoku. And Sho.

[NERD]

It probably indicates that it is from the library of the aforementioned 'company'.

EDIT: I also forget that the Japanese books are written to be read from right to left. I thought that was only mangas!

[peru]

Last month, during my vacation in Dallas, Shamu and I visited a huge bookstore named 'half-priced books' Since they have an excellent selection of books, and a nice airco, we started looking for Dutch books for fun.I swear by Half-Price Books. Great chain if you're in Texas (I think they've stores in Arkansas and other states, too).