[Parks, Fanny]

2 volumes, large 8vo (10 7/8 x 7 1/4 in.; 278 x 185mm). 50 plates, including frontispieces, 19 of which hand-colored, 1 folding panorama in the rear pocket of vol. I; some foxing throughout, owner's signature to titles, vol. I. with one or two neat pencil annotations to margins, vol. II. with backed plate ("Waterspouts"). Original blue cloth, covers and spines pictorially stamped in gilt; corners bumped, some rubbing to extremities resulting in some fraying.

Abbey, 'Travel' 476; Mendelssohn (1979) III, p.p. 630-631

2 volumes, large 8vo (10 7/8 x 7 1/4 in.; 278 x 185mm). 50 plates, including frontispieces, 19 of which hand-colored, 1 folding panorama in the rear pocket of vol. I; some foxing throughout, owner's signature to titles, vol. I. with one or two neat pencil annotations to margins, vol. II. with backed plate ("Waterspouts"). Original blue cloth, covers and spines pictorially stamped in gilt; corners bumped, some rubbing to extremities resulting in some fraying.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.

First edition. Fanny Parks (or Parkes) was the wife of Charles Crawford Parkes, a writer for the East India Companies, who was stationed in India in 1822. Parks, unlike most of her female cohort, immersed herself in Indian culture, even often travelling on her own. All that she surveyed seemed to engaged her attention, and her narrative is defined by its considered observation, lack of prejudice, and compassion for the people of whom she wrote. Not only is this one of the most readable travel memoirs of the day, but perhaps one of the most unique, with such female voices and perspectives infrequently found in print during the period.