The Empty Quarter by H St John Philby (9 results)

Condition: Good. Most items will be dispatched the same or the next working day. A copy that has been read but remains in clean condition. All of the pages are intact and the cover is intact and the spine may show signs of wear. The book may have minor markings which are not specifically mentioned.

Paperback. Condition: Very Good. The book has been read, but is in excellent condition. Pages are intact and not marred by notes or highlighting. The spine remains undamaged.

Condition: Good. Used book that is in clean, average condition without any missing pages.

Soft Cover. Condition: VG+. Facsimile. 8vo. original printed paper wraps (a little rubbed & creased, slight surface tear from label removal, small bookseller's address label to rear cover); pp. xviii, 434 (last blank), with appendices + index. A very good copy.

1st edition pictorial wrappers Nice copy octavo xviii + 433pp., appends., index, Neat ownership signature o/w nice copy.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. First Edition. xxiv, 433 pp., frontis, 2 colour folding maps, 1 colour folding plan, half-title, 47 b/w plates, publisher's original cloth, soiled & lightly rubbed, appendices, index, occasional foxing, mainly to outer edges, otherwise copy in good condition. Philby made a series of remarkable journeys, of which the greatest was his crossing of the 'empty quarter' in 1932. On these journeys he travelled by camel and later by car. By day he collected place names, temperatures, compass bearings, barometric pressures, rocks, fossils, flora and fauna, and ancient inscriptions. At night he wrote them up in his diaries, squatting in the sand by lamplight and hiding his work from his suspicious Arab escort" (ODNB). #23815.

Hard Cover. Condition: F-. Dust Jacket Condition: VG+. First US. F-/VG+. 8vo. original blue cloth in dustwrapper (edges slightly frayed with tiny chipping, spine a little tanned); pp. xxiv, 432, inc. appendices + index, with 32 illustrated pages & 3 colour folding maps. Heavy item (1.4 kg), additional postage may be required for international delivery. A near fine copy of an uncommon title, highly sought after, especially in dustwrapper. Clean & bright throughout.

Hard Cover. Condition: VG+. No Jacket. First Edition, Second Issue. 8vo. original brown cloth (spine & top edge on upper board a little sunned, neat trimming along one fold of rear map (manufacturing fault); lacks dustwrapper); pp. xxiv, 434 (last colophon), inc. appendices + index, with 32 illustrated pages & 3 colour folding maps. Heavy item (1.5 kg), additional postage may be required for international delivery. A nice copy, near fine.

FIRST EDITION. 8vo. (22 x 13.5 cm). pp.xxiv+433+[1]. Publisher's original spruce green cloth, spine lettered in gilt, top edge dyed green. Illustrated with 32 photographic plates (including frontispiece) and 3 folding maps. Ex libris John Rogers with his bookplate to front pastedown. The faintest of wear to extremities, generally an excellent copy. First edition of this record of the greatest of Philby's remarkable journeys - the crossing of the 'Empty Quarter' between Hufuf and As Sulayyil. Considered his most remarkable journey, Philby's explorationof the Rub' al Khali was not the first by a westerner (Bertram Thomas had traversed the region a year previously), but did make major scientific and geographical contributions to the western understanding of this area, described as "the most inhospitable regions of a barren land". "By day he collected place names, temperatures, compass bearings, barometric pressures, rocks, fossils, flora and fauna, and ancient inscriptions. At night he wrote them up in his diaries, squatting in the sand by lamplight and hiding his work from his suspicious Arab escort. These journeys [.] won him high honour with the Royal Geographical Society, the British Museum, Kew Gardens, and academic societies all over the world. He was awarded the founder's gold medal of the Royal Geographical Society in 1920 and the Sir Richard Burton memorial medal of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1925." (ODNB). St. John Philby (1885-1960), also known by his Arabian name "Sheikh Abdullah", was an Arabist, explorer, writer, and British colonial office intelligence officer. Educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, he studied oriental languages and was a friend and classmate of Jawaharlal Nehru, later prime Minister of India. In January 1932, Philby set out from Hufuf with a escort of 14 men "provided by Ibn Sa'ud, along with 32 camels and provisions for three months. Proceeding initially southeast to the southwest corner of the Qatar peninsula, the caravan then struck southwest across the Al Jafurah desert to the Jabrin (Yabrin) oasis. About 150 kilometres from Shanna, and about the same distance from the next waterhole, even the camels began to suffer the effects of heat and exhaustion, forcing the party to turn back to the oasis of Naifa. The party successfully entered Sulayyil on 14.3.32 after travelling for 2700 kilometres in ninety days" (Howgego). Philby made the first east to west crossing of the area, and explored the Empty Quarter in great depth. Later in life Philby became Ibn Saud's chief adviser in dealing with the British Empire and Western powers. He converted to Islam in 1930. Ronald Wingate considered that "it is mainly to him that the world owes its present knowledge of Central Arabia" and Philby's tombstone in Beirut describes him as the "greatest of Arabian Explorers" (ODNB). Howgego III, p. 31.