Life In The Forests.

SAINT JOHN, Sir Spenser [Buckingham] [1825-1910].

Published by London: Smith, Elder And Co., 1862., 1862

About this Item

2 Volumes. 8vo. pp. 1 p.l., vii]-xix, [1]list of illus., [1 leaf]errata, 400; 1 p.l., [v]-xviii, [1 leaf]plate list, 420. lacking half-titles. 2 folding lithographed maps, 4 hand-coloured lithographs of plants, & 12 tinted lithographs. contemporary half calf (spine & corners worn but solid, neat gilt library stamp at foot of spines, some foxing to plates & neighbouring leaves). First Edition. St. John, who as a young man was fascinated with Borneo and the adventures of Sir James Brooke, rajah of Sarawak, and took up the study of the Malay language, was introduced to Brooke on his visit to England in 1847 and accompanied him as private secretary when Brooke was appointed British commissioner and governor of Labuan. Thenceforth St. John and Brooke were closely associated. St. John was with Brooke during his final operations in 1849 against Malay pirates, and he accompanied Brooke to Brunei, the Sulu archipelago, and to Siam in 1850. Although St. John deemed some of his chief's dealings with the natives high-handed and ill-advised, he in a letter to Gladstone, defended Brooke against attack in the House of Commons. While the official inquiry into Brooke's conduct, which the home government appointed, was in progress at Singapore, St. John acted temporarily as commissioner for Brooke (1851-5), and visited the north-western coast of Borneo and the north-eastern shore, ascending the principal rivers. Appointed in 1856 British consul-general at Brunei, St. John explored the country round the capital, and penetrated farther into the interior than any previous traveller. He published his full and accurate journals, supplemented by other visitors' testimonies, in these well-written and beautifully illustrated volumes entitled Life in the Forests of the Far East (1862). (DNB) Included are chapters on the Sea and Land Dayaks and their social life, the Samarahan River and the Caves of Sirih, St. John's ascents of the Mountain of Kina Balu, explorations in the interior to the south and south-east of the capital, expedition up the Limbang River, visits to the Sulu Islands, Borneo proper, Sarawak, the Chinese in Borneo, the Chinese insurrection, and Roman catholic and protestant missions. The plates include tinted lithographs showing scenery and natives, and four hand-coloured lithographs of notable flora. cfCasey Wood p. 548 (2nd Edn.).

Seller Inventory # FINfeSAI69

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Life In The Forests.
• Publisher: London: Smith, Elder And Co., 1862.
• Publication Date: 1862
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Far-East