THE MALAY ARCHIPELAGO, The Land of the Orang-utan and the Bird of Paradise. A Narrative of Travel with Studies of Man and Nature by Alfred Russell Wallace - 1885

Attractive binding in ¾ calf on marbled paper boards.  Raised bands and gilt titles on a red leather badge and gilt designs on the spine.  Marbled pages edges all around and marbled endpapers to match marbling on covers.  No binder name, but very nicely done.  2 foldout maps and 8 engraved plates all present.

Top of front cover and top page edges show minor fading.  Very slight scuffing on edges.  Binding very sound.  A bookplate of a recent owner in on the front pastedown, but no other marks or damage. Text and plates are all clean and bright, with no foxing or other issues.

The Malay Archipelago chronicles Wallace's scientific exploration, from 1854 to 1862, of the southern portion of the Malay Archipelago including Malaysia, Singapore, the islands of Indonesia, then known as the Dutch East Indies, and the island of New Guinea.   During his exploration he travelled over 14,000 miles and collected 125,660 natural history specimens, mostly of insects though also thousands of molluscs, birds, mammals and reptiles.

The book describes each island that he visited in turn, giving a detailed account of its physical and human geography, its volcanoes, and the variety of animals and plants that he found and collected. At the same time, he describes his experiences, the difficulties of travel, and the help he received from the different peoples that he met.