India and Tibet--[Anon.]

Not traced in any of the standard bibliographies, including Yakushi (1994), nor COPAC.

A rare privately produced account of a tour in the northern Indian state of Sikkim, bordering Tibet and Nepal, during April 1912. The five men, described collectively in the work as the 'Tramps' comprised three Scots ('the Manager', 'the Fiend' and 'the Scribe') and two Englishmen ('Padre' and 'Geologist' or 'Geo'). The preface is initialled 'W.M.' (presumably 'the Scribe') and the work is dedicated to 'G.A.E. and J.B.' The tour began with a journey from Calcutta on the Eastern Bengal State Railway, then on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway to Ghoom and then 17 miles by foot, exploring various villages and Buddhist monasteries in the eastern Himalayas. The account records: "It may seem incredible, but it is nevertheless fact, that twenty-three coolies, a cook, a bearer, a sweeper, a sardar and two syces were necessary for the comfort of the five sahibs"; there were also two ponies and a fox terrier. The photographs include views of landscapes, buildings (including guest houses and monasteries), native people, group shots etc. It is likely that only a handful of copies were printed.