
Notebook in case. The inscription “馬棕貯進出mǎ zōng zhǔ jìn chū” written on the red paper attached to the cover of the notebook literally means 'record of import and export of goods “馬棕mǎ zōng” '. The characters “馬棕” might be translated as an abbreviation for 'palm oil from Malaysia'. The inscription “馬棕財滾存mǎ zōng cái gǔn cún” on the white label attached to the notebook literally means 'record of surplus of goods “馬棕 mǎ zōng” '. The number 2.50 and the characters “磅bàng”, circled in red, mean £2.50. The character “英yīng” circled in yellow, which appears frequently in the notebook, is the abbreviation for 'England'. These inscriptions clearly suggest that this notebook is a record of the trade between China and England from the year 1889 to 1892.