Through Central Asia, with a map and appendix on the Diplomacy and Delimitation of the Russo-Afghan Frontier

LANSDELL, Henry (1841-1919)

Published by Sampson & Low, London, 1887

About this Item

(8 1/2 x 5 9/16 inches). xx, 668, [4] pp. with 75 in-text illustrations and folding map in colour (sheet size: 14 7/8 x 19 5/8 inches). Publisher's blue pictorial cloth, title gilt on front board and spine. Within dark blue custom slipcase. Provenance: Franklin Brooke-Hitching, renowned collector of English language books relating to voyages, exploration and discovery from the 16th century to the early 20th century. The very fine Franklin Brooke-Hitching copy of a classic narrative of a journey through Siberia, Turkistan, Samarkand, Bokhara and Khiva. Henry Lansdell was a Church of England clergyman and a noted author and explorer. In the latter half of the 19th century, Lansdell began long and often arduous journeys to little-known parts of Asia with the purpose of distributing multi-lingual religious tracts and bibles provided by London missionary societies wherever he went, most notably in prisons and hospitals in Siberia and central Asia. The present work is meant to differ from Landell's larger, more technical work Russian Central Asia, including Kuldja, Bokhara, Khiva and Merv. As stated in the Preface, Landell's conceived Through Central Asia as a personal narrative. The chapters cover different legs of his journey and include descriptions of incidents and encounters, what he ate and wore, and the everyday details of navigating foreign terrains and customs. Lansdell is a gifted travel writer and his engaging narrative is here enchanced by the numerous, detailed illustrations of people, urban scenes, and intriguing architecture. Yakushi (1994) L75a.

Seller Inventory # 35164

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Through Central Asia, with a map and appendix on the Diplomacy and Delimitation of the Russo-Afghan Frontier
• Publisher: Sampson & Low, London
• Publication Date: 1887
• Binding: 8vo