Pottinger, Lieut. Henry

4to (10 3/4 x 8 1/4 ins.; 275 x 210 mm). Hand-colored aquatint frontis, 2 large folding engraved maps hand-colored in outline; maps offset, scattered faint spotting. Antique latticed calf, gilt.

FIRST EDITION. One of the great nineteenth-century travel books, and a classic Great Game work. Accompanied by Captain Christie, Pottinger went on an official exploration of the country between India and Persia in 1810. Heavily disguised as natives and accompanied by a native horse-dealer, they travelled by sea to Sinde and overland to Khelat. When they reached the Afghanistan-Baluchistan border, Christie travelled north and Pottinger west. They met up in Isphahan, where Christie was killed in a Russian attack on the Persians in 1812. Pottinger meanwhile had returned to Bombay via Baghdad.