Search Results: Authors starting with W from John Randall (Books of Asia)

Calcutta: Fort William, 1803. First edition. 4to (32 x 19 cm), pp.[ii], [ii, contemporary manuscript contents], 102, [ii], 28, [2], 12*, 126, [1], [1, blank], [1, errata], [1, blank], with 5 large folding plans, all with contemporary hand colour, 4 signed "F. Dormieux Sculp. Calcutta 1803". A very good copy in contemporary speckled calf, gilt. The leather somewhat worn, particularly at the spine, with small areas of loss, but still handsome. A handful of contemporary manuscript corrections and annotations to text. The account of the first part of the Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-1805) written by Richard Wellesley (1760-1842), then Governor-General of Bengal, in large part to trumpet British military success against the Maratha Confederacy, and promote his vision for British dominion in India. This depended on a network of subsidiary treaties and alliances with Indian states, such as the Treaty of Bassein, concluded between the Maratha Peshwa of Poona and the East India Company on 31… Read More

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1824. First English edition, 8vo, pp.xi, [1, blank], 368 - (371)-2. A very good copy bound in dyed contemporary half leather, buckram boards, all edges speckled blue and red. Light rubbing to extremities of boards, light foxing to first and last few leaves. This account of an American voyage to Saigon in 1819-20 was called "a minor treasure of early nineteenth century travel literature on South East Asia" by Milton Osborne in his introduction to the Oxford in Asia Historical Reprint. This work captivating because it was written by a self-described "unlettered seaman", the author being a Lieutenant in the US Navy, who intended for his writing to be "deposited in the archives of the "East India Marine Society of Salem"" and was only published once his friends convinced him it would be of interest to the general reader. Alongside intriguing insights into Saigon and the surrounding regions including Batavia… Read More

London: John Murray, 1872. New (i.e. second) edition, edited by his son. pp.cvii, [2, half-title], 280, 32 (adverts), frontispiece, 2 folding maps. A very good copy in the original blind decorated cloth. Spine sun-faded, slight spotting to a few leaves. John Wood (1812-1871) was a naval officer who took great interest in exploration and geography, and achieved considerable fame for being the first European to discover and chart the source of the Oxus. With his flair for exploration and cartography Wood was chosen to lead an expedition into Central Asia in 1838. His narrative is gripping with tales of danger and excitement throughout, but is most engaging in it's impartial frankness on the condition of the people he met and the lands through which he travelled. This edition, published by Wood's son in commemoration of his father's death, is considerably expanded with Yule's essay bringing the known history and geography of the Oxus and it's surrounding region up to date. Henry… Read More

London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1904. First edition, pp.xxiv, 380, folding map, 202 illustrations (mostly plates). A very good copy in original gilt decorated cloth, top edge gilt. Slightly rubbed and bumped, cloth shows light soiling from age, edges lightly foxed. Map has a repaired 3cm tear at join, affecting only border. An account of the visit of husband and wife to archaeological and artistic remains through large parts of India, including the Punjab, Madras, Orissa, Bengal, Mysore, Hyderebad, and Rajputana, via bicycle, including important locations such as the Ajanta caves and Bhuvaneswara. The illustrations are black and white photos, of which 192 were taken by the authors themselves. The work is not academic but a first hand account of a journey, and thus includes numerous observations about wildlife, peoples, and ways of life alongside the temples and wall paintings. Fanny Bullock Workman (1859–1925) and William Hunter Workman (1847–1937) were American explorers and mountaineers who… Read More

London: Lloyds Greater Britain Publishing Company, 1908. First edition, folio (31 x 25 cm), pp.959, illustrated throughout. A superb copy bound in the original full gilt-decorated leather. A history of the Straits Settlements and Federated Malay States together with details of every aspect of the colonies at the turn of the century and biographies of prominent citizens.