Yarkand expedition--Henderson, George, and Allan O. Hume

Estimate

1,200 - 1,800 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

Lahore to Yarkand. Incidents of the Route and Natural History of the Countries traversed by the Expedition of 1870, under T.D. Forsyth. London: L. Reeve & Co., 1873
Paper

FIRST EDITION, 8vo (254 x 155mm.), xiv, [ii], 370pp., [ii]+16pp. adverts, folding map, 38 hand-coloured plates, 3 geological plans [2 hand-coloured], 26 photo illustrations on 16 plates, original pebble-grained brown cloth, dark green endpapers, slipcase

Literature

Yakushi (1994) H236; Zimmer p.297; not in Anker or Nissen

Catalogue Note

Forsyth's first Yarkand expedition to Eastern Turkestan in 1870, undertaken to assess the threat from Russia and to initiate contact and trade with Yakub Beg, amir of Kashgar. Although the diplomatic mission was a failure (Yakub Beg was absent during his visit), Henderson and Hume's natural history researches were a success with seven new species of birds described, and information obtained on a further 151 species. Roughly half of the book is taken up with a narrative of the expedition and the other half with natural history results illustrated with hand-coloured plates of birds.