Pinnacle Books ~ Central Asia
Books 1 to 50 of 64
£ 50
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Alder, Garry.
BEYOND BOKHARA: The Life of William Moorcroft - Asian Explorer and Pioneer Veterinary Surgeon 1767-1825.
Century Publishing.
1985
First edition.
Overall, near fine in near fine complete and unclipped dustwrapper which is now in a loose protective sleeve.
In original brown cloth with gilt lettering. 418pp with 18 plates, 24 line illustrations & 2 maps. No inscriptions. A little dusting to top page ends and light wear to the foot of the dustwrapper.

£ 40
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Allen, Charles.
A MOUNTAIN IN TIBET: The Search for Mount Kailas and the Sources of the Great Rivers in India.
Andre Deutsch.
1982
First edition.
A history of the explorers who searched Western Tibet for Mount Kailas and for the sources of the Indus, Sutlej and Tsangpo-Brahmaputra Rivers of India.
255pp with numerous illustrations in the text. No inscriptions or other blemishes. Fine in near fine complete and unclipped dustwrapper which is now in a loose protective sleeve.

£ 115
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Bailey, F.M. LT.-CoL.
CHINA-TIBET-ASSAM.
Cape.
1945
First edition.
A personal record of a journey through China, Tibet and Assam in 1911.
175pp with frontispiece, 7 illus and 2 maps (1 folding map to rear). In original red cloth with clear gilt lettering to spine. Previous owner name and address on front endpaper. Text block tight and square. Content / cloth in near fine condition, which is uncommon with war economy production standard books. Complete with scarce dustwrapper which has light scattered rub marks and some light loss to head of spine. Written in ink on spine is ‘1911 but published 1945’ Overall, a very good dustwrapper which is now in loose protective sleeve.

£ 40
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Bailey, F.M. LT.-CoL.
NO PASSPORT TO TIBET.
Rupert Hart-Davis.
1957
First edition.
In ‘No Passport to Tibet’, Bailey records his 1500 mile journey in an area of northern Assam and southern Tibet, which was not surveyed at the time. The trek solved the mystery of the Tsangpo Gorges and made a number of important natural history finds, the most famous being the blue poppy, immortalized later by Kingdon-Ward. This area was highly sensitive at the time as Great Britain, China and Russia were still engaged in the ‘Great Game’.
294pp with illus. Original burgundy cloth with gilt lettering. No inscriptions. Overall, very good in very good- complete and unclipped dustwrapper, which has general chipping and creases to extremities and light fading to rear of dustwrapper. The wrapper is now in a loose protective sleeve.

£ 45
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Beckwith, Christopher.
THE TIBETAN EMPIRE IN CENTRAL ASIA. A History of the Struggle for Great Power among Tibetans, Turks, Arabs and Chinese during the Early Middle Ages.
Princeton University Press.
1987
First edition.
This scholarly study details the narrative history of the Tibetan Empire in Central Asia from about A.D. 600 to 866 and depicts the struggles of the great Tibetan, Turkic, Arab, and Chinese powers for dominance over the Silk Road lands that connected Europe and East Asia. Challenging the commonly held belief that East and West were largely isolated from each other until the discovery of sea routes to India and China, the book emphasizes the importance of overland contacts in the Early Middle Ages and explains Tibet's role in the conflict over Central Asia.
New Jersey. Hardback. 269pp with appendices and 2 maps. In original black cloth with bright gilt titles. No inscriptions. Overall, fine in very good+ complete and unclipped dustwrapper, which has general light wear and is now in a loose protective sleeve.

£ 40
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Bernard, Theos.
LAND OF A THOUSAND BUDDHAS: A Pilgrimage into the Heart of Tibet and the Sacred City of Lhasa.
Rider
1950
Reprint.
In original blue cloth with gilt lettering. 320pp with 65 illus. No inscriptions.
Clean condition. Very good contents / cloth.

£ 25
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Biscoe, C.E. Tyndale.
KASHMIR IN SUNLIGHT AND SHADE: A Description of the Beauties of the Country, the Life, Habits and Humour of its Inhabitants, and an Account of the Gradual but Steady Rebuilding of a Once Downtrodden People.
Seeley, Service & Co.
1925
Secondedition.
315pp with frontispiece and17 illustrations. In original black pictorial cloth with blue lettering. With an introduction by Major-Gen L.C. Dun Sterville.
No inscriptions. Very good+ contents / cloth. Text block tight and square.

£ 20
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Bosworth, C.E.
THE LATER GHAZNAVIDS: Splendour and Decay. The Dynasty in Afghanistan and Northern India 1040-1186.
Edinburgh University Press.
1977
First edition.
195pp. Fine in fine complete and unclipped dustwrapper.
No inscriptions or other blemishes.

£ 55
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Candler, Edmund.
ON THE EDGE OF THE WORLD.
Cassell.
1919
First edition.
278pp with 35 illus and map. Central Asian travel in Kasmir, the Khyber pass, round Nanga Parbat and the Pir Pinjal.
Clean near fine contents / cloth with attractive cloth design.

£ 35
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Carruthers, Douglas.
BEYOND THE CASPIAN.
Oliver & Boyd.
1949
First edition.
Natural history, hunting and travel in the mountain ranges of Central Asia and the High Pamirs plus the deserts and mountains of High Tartary.
Edinburgh. 290pp with 6 coloured plates and fold out map. Inscription on front endpaper. Slightly faded spine cloth. Very good contents / cloth. No dustwrapper.

£ 350
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Cox, E.H.M.
FARRER'S LAST JOURNEY UPPER BURMA, 1919-20 Together with a complete list of all rhododendrons collected by Reginald Farrer, and his field notes, compiled by Miss Helen T Maxwell, Assistant in the Herbarium of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh.
Dulau & Co.
1926
First edition.
Farrer was a rare plant hunter who travelled extensively in Asia. The book recalls plant hunting expeditions by Cox and Reginald Farrer in Burma. The appendices are on the hardiness of plants from upper Burma and on the rhododendrons collected by Farrer.
London. In original plum cloth with gilt spine lettering. 244pp with endpapers maps and 28 full and half page black and white photographic illustrations. No inscriptions. Text block tight and square. Contents clean and bright and in fine condition. Complete with exceptionally scarce dustwrapper. The inside top and lower edges (2cm) have been supported by card reinforcement. Scarce.

£ 25
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Curzon, Marquess.
LEAVES FROM A VICEROY’S NOTEBOOK.
MacMillan.
1926
First edition.
A collection of essays on India, Kashmir, Persia and the Levant.
414pp with 39 illus. In original blue cloth gilt with Curzon's arms in gilt on front board. Cloth a little wrinkled and rubbed on spine edges. However text block tight and square. No inscriptions. Clean contents. Overall, very good- contents / cloth.

£ 25
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Dalrymple, William.
IN XANADU: A Quest.
Collins.
1989
Reprint in same year as first edition.
Clean, bright book with no inscriptions, in a bright unclipped dustwrapper. No inscriptions or other blemishes.
314pp with 27 photos on plates, 8 maps, map endpapers, glossary, bibliography, index.

£ 18
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Dalrymple, William.
THE AGE OF KALI. Indian Travels and Encounters.
Harper Collins.
1998
First edition.
385pp with colour map on endpapers. Pages lightly tanned. No inscriptions.
Near fine in very good+ price clipped dustwrapper (d/w), which has a couple of light seam creases on spine of d/w.

£ 225
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David-Neel, Alexandra.
MY JOURNEY TO LHASA. The Personal Story of the Only White Woman Who Succeeded in Entering the Forbidden City.
Heinemann.
1927
First edition.
Tibet was still closed to the West in 1923, the year that David-Neel (aged 55 and with her adopted Tibetan son) set out on their winter trek to Lhasa. Mostly traveling under cover of night, the duo climbed mountains, eluded soldiers and reached the capital Lhasa, where they joined other pilgrims.
310pp + frontispiece and 43 illustrations. In original black cloth with clear gilt spine lettering and vignette to front board. No inscriptions. Text block tight and square. Pages clean and turn easily. Very minor rubbing to cloth extremities. Overall, an attractive very good+ copy of scarce title, the authors third book.

£ 20
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Desmond, Ray.
SIR JOSEPH DALTON HOOKER: Traveller and Plant Collector. Antiques Collectors' Club.
Antiques Collectors' Club.
2006
Reprint.
Finely produced large size hardback. 286pp illustrated in colour and b&w and published in conjunction with Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Includes Hooker’s own sketches and drawings.
Fine in fine dustwrapper. As New.

£ 325
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Etherton, Lieut, P.T.
ACROSS THE ROOF OF THE WORLD. A Record of Sport and Travel Through Kashmir, Gilgit, Hunza, The Pamirs, Chinese Turkistan, Mongolia and Siberia.
Constable.
1911
First edition.
A mix of travel, hunting and exploration.
In original dark green cloth with blue and white colour added for front board and spine decoration. Gilt lettering plus top edges gilt. 437pp with illus from photographs and folding map which is complete. Text block tight and square. Photogravure frontispiece of Etherton with original tissue guard intact. Tape repair to first index page (page 431/432). Fitted with new white endpapers. Scattered spotting to remaining endpapers and half title page. Very little foxing thereafter. Light rubbing to cloth extremities and edges. Overall, very good contents / cloth.

£ 375
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Fergusson, W.N.
ADVENTURE SPORT AND TRAVEL ON THE TIBETAN STEPPES.
Constable.
1911
First edition.
This book is primarily an account of two journeys through China and Tibet undertaken by the late Lieutenant John Weston Brooke. Brooke started on his first journey from Shanghai in August 1906 and after crossing Tibet returned to Shanghai in October 1907. He then left Shanghai on his second journey in December 1907 and travelled in Western Sechuan and Eastern Tibet until December 24, 1908, when he was murdered in the Independent Lolo Land. On the second of these two expeditions, Brooke was accompanied by Cecil Meares who later went onto join Captain Scott on the British Antarctic Expedition. Consequently, the task fell to Fergusson to record the journeys when he was entrusted with Brooke's diary and photographs. Yakushi F29.
343pp with one front portrait, two folding maps and 76 illustrations in the text made from photographs by the author and John W. Brooke. In original green cloth with gilt titling. No inscriptions. Hinges and text block tight and square. Light foxing to page ends but pages clean and bright. Some general light rubbing to cloth extremities and a little fading to lettering on the front board. Overall, a very good copy.

£ 20
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Fleming, Peter.
BAYONETS TO LHASA. The First Full Account of the British Invasion of Tibet in 1904.
Rupert Hart-Davis.
1961
Second impression.
A story of a British imperialist adventure - Bayonets to Lhasa has as its backdrop the South West Frontier and The Great Game being played by Russia, the British and China at the end of the 19th century. The invasion of Tibet was led by Colonel Francis Younghusband, himself a famous explorer.
319pp with 30 illus and five sketch maps including diagram illustrating altitudes on expedition route. Frontispiece of Younghusband. In original burgundy cloth. Fine in near fine complete and unclipped d/w. No inscriptions. The d/w shows campaign medal against the background of British camp before Phari Fort.

£ 50
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Fletcher, Harold R.
A QUEST OF FLOWERS. The Plant Explorations of Frank Ludlow and George Sherriff.
Edinburgh University Press.
1976
Reprint.
A fine record of 1930s and 1940s travels to northern India, Bhutan, China, Tibet and Nepal in search of flowers.
Reprinted in the same year as the first edition. 387pp with endpaper maps, 7 plates in colour and 106 in black and white. Slight spotting to page ends and light marks to rear cloth and spine. No inscriptions. Text block tight and square. Slight chipping and creasing to head and foot of spine with a few small tears in places. Overall, very good- in very good dustwrapper.

£ 40
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Gorer, Geoffrey.
HIMALAYAN VILLAGE.
Michael Joseph.
1938
First edition.
508pp with 32 illus. An account of the Lephas of Sikkim. A major anthropological study.
Vg+ contents / cloth.

£ 12
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Harrer, Heinrich.
SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET.
Hart-Davis.
1953
Second impression.
Harrer escaped from internment in India during World War II and made his way to Lhasa, where he found favour in high circles (Neate, H40).
288pp with 26 plates & a map. No inscriptions. Slight spotting to page ends. Very good+ in very good slightly rubbed unclipped dustwrapper which is now in a loose protective sleeve.

£ 325
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Hedin, Sven.
TRANS-HIMALAYA: Discoveries and Adventures in Tibet.
MacMillan.
First edition.
1909 & 1913. Complete in three volumes. Volume One, 436pp with 188 illus (inc two in colour) and 7 b/w maps. Volume Two, 441pp with 388 illus (including one fold-out panorama and 15 in colour) plus three fold-out maps. Volume 3, 426pp with 155 illus and 4 maps (including one fold out map). All volumes in original plum red cloth boards with gilt titles and illus. Volume One has superficial split to bottom of spine (about two cm on lower board) a few small marks and superficial seam tear along back hinge. However, binding is generally tight and requires just a little careful handling. Previous owner’s signatures on front endpaper. Scattered light foxing. Volume Two, seams tight and compact, again with scattered foxing to page ends and light general wear. Ditto, Volume Three. Overall, a very good complete three volume set.
A vivid account of Hedin’s travels to Tibet between 1906 and 1908.

£ 40
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Hedin, Sven.
MY LIFE AS AN EXPLORER.
Oxford University Press.
1991
Reprint.
A biographical record of travel and exploration between 1885 and 1908 covering through journeys through Persia, Tibet, Central Asia, Turkistan and across the Gobi Desert.
Reprint of 1926 first edition. 498pp with b/w illustrations. In original red cloth with gilt spine lettering. Clean, bright copy. Text block tight and square. Light tanning to pages and page ends. No inscriptions. Very good+ contents / cloth in near fine complete and unclipped dustwrapper which has very light colour fading to spine.

£ 40
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Huc, R.E. and Gabet, A.J.
TRAVELS IN TARTARY, THIBET AND CHINA.
Routledge.
1928
First edition.
Missionaries, Huc and Gabet travelled among the tribes of northern Mongolia and in north-eastern and central Tibet. The authors spent three months at the Kumbum monastery before heading for Lhasa, where they stayed for several weeks until deported to China.
Two volumes (387pp and 406pp. Part of The Broadway Travellers series. London. In original cloth but probably a mixed set. Volume 1 has one house label on front endpaper but there is a different owner stamp on second volume. Volumes in similar very good condition however.

£ 40
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Ippolito Desideri of Pistoia.
AN ACCOUNT OF TIBET. The Travels of Ippolito Desideri of Pistoia, S.J. 1712-1727.
Routledge.
1932
Reprint.
The book covers among other things the Jesuit Mission in Tibet (1625-1721) and how the Kingdom of Tibet fell into the hands of the Tartars and then to the Chinese.
Part of the Broadway Travellers series. 474pp with colour frontispiece tipped in, red and black title page, 17 illustrations and folding map at rear along with 4pp list of books. In faded maroon cloth with gilt titles to spine. Edited by Filippo de Filippi, Introduction by C. Wessels. Series editors Sir E. Denison Ross and Eileen Power. Generally rubbed cloth with slightly rubbed corners. Text block tight and square. Possible label removal to lower front cloth and to rear endpaper. Overall, Good contents only.

£ 15
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Keay, John.
WHEN MEN AND MOUNTAINS MEET: The Explorers of the Western Himalayas 1820-1875.
John Murray.
1981
Second edition.
277pp with illus and maps. No inscriptions or other blemishes. Fine in fine dustwrapper. Clean bright copy.
An account of early exploration in British India and Central Asia with accounts of early Great Game activity (Yakushi K 42).

£ 125
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Kingdom-Ward, Frank.
BURMA’S ICY MOUNTAINS.
Jonathan Cape.
1949
First edition.
An account of two expeditions in 1937-39 into Burma's 20,000ft mountains by famous British plant-hunter (Neate: W16).
In original blue cloth with light darkening to page ends. Text block tight and square, clean internally. 288pp with 16 plates & 2 folding maps. No inscriptions. The dustwrapper has minor rubbing to extremities and a few very small tears on edges. A very good copy in the scarce very good-dustwrapper.

£ 30
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Kish, George.
TO THE HEART OF ASIA. The Life of Sven Hedin.
University of Michigan Press
1987
Reprint.
Between 1893 and 1935 Hedin made four expeditions to Central Asia. He charted maps of the Pamirs, Taklamakan Desert and Tibet. In 1900-01 he made two attempts to reach Lhasa, but the race was won by a Japanese scholar Ekai Kawaquchi. However, Hedin met in 1906 Taši Lama. The Dalai Lama had fled in 1904 when the British troops entered Lhasa, and Taši Lama became the most powerful man in Tibet.
153pp with illus. No inscriptions. Fine in fine complete and unclipped dustwrapper which is now in a loose protective sleeve.

£ 30
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Lattimore, Owen.
STUDIES IN FRONTIER HISTORY. Collected Papers 1928-1958.
Oxford University Press.
1962
First edition.
A collection of papers with a focus on Inner Asia, Sinkiang, Mongolia, Manchuria and China and national minorities and nomads.
In original green cloth with gilt lettering. No inscriptions. Text block tight and square. Ex Birbeck College Library. Small library marks to half and full title pages and rear endpaper plus signs of label removal on lower spine cloth.

£ 20
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Le Fevre, George.
AN EASTERN ODYSSEY: The Third Expedition of Haardt and Audouin-Dubreuil.
Little Brown & Co.
1935
First (US) edition.
The book details the Citroen Trans-Asiatic Expedition from Beirut to Tientsin which motored from Syria and Iraq across the Taklamakan desert to China.
368pp with endpaper map, frontis, 39 b/w illus and foldout map. Contents fine. No inscriptions. Cloth lightly faded especially on spine.

£ 18
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Levi, Peter.
THE LIGHT GARDEN OF THE ANGEL KING. Journeys in Afghanistan.
Collins.
1972
First edition.
287pp with 19 photographs by Bruce Chatwin. No inscriptions.
Very good+ contents / cloth in very good complete and unclipped dustwrapper, which has light wear to extremities in places.

£ 25
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Maraini, Fosco.
SECRET TIBET
Hutchison.
1952
First edition.
252pp plus 60 pages of plates from photographs. Translated from the Italian by Eric Mosbacher. Light wear to top page ends. Previous owner initials on front endpaper.
Overall, very good+ in near fine unclipped dustwrapper.

£ 18
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Maraini, Fosco.
SECRET TIBET
Hutchison.
1952
First edition.
252pp plus 60 pages of plates from photographs. Translated from the Italian by Eric Mosbacher. Edge wear and light chipping to price-clipped dustwrapper, especially at spine ends. Light wear to page ends. No inscriptions.
Overall, very good in very good- dustwrapper.

£ 75
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Marylin M. Rhie and Robert A. F. Thurman.
THE SACRED ART OF TIBET.
Thames & Hudson.
1991
First edition.
Published on the occasion of the 'Wisdom and Compassion: The Sacred Art of Tibet' exhibition organized by the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco in conjunction with Tibet House, New York.
Large size. 406pp with 278 illustrations, including 263 in colour and 2 maps; photographs by John Bigelow Taylor. Tightly bound, with crisp, bright pages. Scarlet cloth cover has titles in gilt on spine and gilt decoration on front. Dustwrapper unclipped and intact. No inscriptions or other blemishes. A beautiful, fine copy.

£ 45
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McGovern William.
TO LHASA IN DISGUISE: A Secret Expedition Through Mysterious Tibet.
The Century Co.
1924
First (US) edition.
In original blue cloth with gilt decoration and vignette. No inscriptions. Text block tight and square. Pages clean and bright. Overall, very good+ contents / cloth.
New York & London. 462pp with frontispiece portrait and 65 illus. The American edition precedes the London edition and contains more illustrations.

£ 20
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Miller, Keith.
CONTINENTS IN COLLISION.
George Philip.
1982
First edition.
212pp with 32 illus and 11 maps. Large size. The International Karakorum Project as part of the celebrations to mark the 150th Anniversary of the Royal Geographical Society.
Vg+ in vg+ complete d/w.

£ 45
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Milne, James.
THE ROAD TO KASHMIR.
Hodder and Stoughton.
1930
First edition.
Fine in very good+ complete and unclipped dustwrapper, which has light creases to dustwrapper extremities. The wrapper is now in a loose protective sleeve.
With a Gallery of Special Pictures. 159 pages with 21 pictures throughout text. Yellow cloth with gilt titles on front and spine. No inscriptions.

£ 22
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Mitcheli, Silvio.
MONGOLIA.
Hollis and Carter.
1967
First edition.
366pp with 38 illus and map. In Search of Marco Polo and Other Adventures.
Near fine in near fine complete d/w.

£ 20
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Morgan, Gerald.
NEY ELIAS: Explorer and envoy extraordinary in High Asia.
Allen and Unwin.
1971
First edition.
Ney Elias 1844-97 journeyed from Peking through Mongolia and across Siberia.
In red cloth with silver spine lettering 294pp with b/w photographs and maps. No inscriptions. Near fine in very good+ price clipped dustwrapper which has faded spine as is common.

£ 15
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Morshead, Ian.
THE LIFE AND MURDER OF HENRY MORSHEAD. A True Story from the Days of the Raj.
Oleander Press.
1982
First edition.
Morshead was a climber on the early 1920s Everest expeditions and was a prolific surveyor. He was murdered in Burma in 1931.
207pp with 51 maps and illustrations. No inscriptions. Fine in fine complete and unclipped dustwrapper. The wrapper is now in a loose protective sleeve.

£ 165
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Mullaly, Colonel B.R.
BUGLE AND KUKRI. The Story of the 10th Princess Mary’s Own Gurkha Rifles.
William Blackwood & Sons.
1957
First edition.
492pp with 33 plates on special art paper plus 21 campaign maps. Small inscription on front endpaper.
In original green hardback cloth cover with beveled edges. Near fine contents / cloth in very good+ complete and unclipped dustwrapper which has very light wear to extremities. The wrapper is now in a loose protective sleeve.

£ 15
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Olufsen, O.
THROUGH THE UNKNOWN PAMIRS. The Second Danish Pamir Expedition 1898-1899.
Greenwood, New York.
1969
Reprint.
The first edition was published in 1904 by Heinemann. There were two Danish expeditions, under Olufsen’s leadership to the southern Pamirs in 1896-97 and 1898-99. This account contains the results of the second expedition (Yakushi, O60).
Fine contents / cloth. No dustwrapper. No inscriptions.

£ 175
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Paquier, J-B.
LE PAMIR: Etude de Geographie Physique et Historique sur L’Asia Centralle.
Maisonneuve and Co.
1876
First edition.
Paris. 218pp with 5 double page maps. Original paper covered edition of this important geographic and historical study of Central Asia. Scarce.
Spine wear at top and foot of spine but binding still tight and secure with pages turning easily and covers attached. No inscriptions. Text in French.

£ 25
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Polovtsoff, A.
THE LAND OF TIMUR: Recollections of Russian Turkestan.
Methuen.
1932
First edition.
Descriptions of the ancient monuments and the charms of Samarcand, Bokhara and the Pamirs before the Russian Revolution.
206pp with frontispiece, map on front endpapers and illustrations. In original blue cloth with gilt spine lettering. Previous owner name on half title page. Some spotting to page ends and light cloth wear in general. A very good copy.

£ 325
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Pratt, A.E.
TO THE SNOWS OF TIBET THROUGH CHINA.
Longmans, Green, and Co.
1892
First edition.
An intriguing account of a naturalist’s expedition to remote areas of China and Tibet in search of rare animals. Scarce.
In original blue cloth boards with two gilt pheasants illustrated on front board and gilt lettering to spine. Black endpapers. 268pp with + 29 illustrations, 4 plates and one folding colour (complete) map at rear. The map is of the province of Sze-Chuen, China showing routes taken in 1889-1890. Hinges tight and square. Very light rubbing to cloth extremities. No inscriptions. Some leaves just slightly over opened at page 192. Pages clean and bright. Overall, very good+ contents / cloth.

£ 40
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Rayfield, Donald.
THE DREAM OF LHASA: The Life of Nikolay Przhevalsky (1839-88) Explorer of Central Asia.
Elek.
1976
First edition.
Przhevalsky made five major expeditions. The first lasted from November 1870 to September 1873. With three men he set out from Kyakhta, south of Lake Baikal, traveled through Ulan Bator, crossed the Gobi Desert, and reached Kalgan, 100 miles northwest of Peking. The main objective of the second expedition (1877-1878) was to reach Lhasa through east Turkistan. Przhevalsky went by way of the Tien Shan Range and Taklamakan Desert, traveling along the foot of the Astin Tagh Range. The third expedition tried to reach Lhasa (1879-1880). Setting out from Lake Zaysan near the northern border of Sinkiang, Przhevalsky crossed to Hami to reach Nagchu Dzong, 170 miles north of Lhasa, where he was turned back by order of the Lama. Przhevalsky's fourth journey was in the mountains between Mongolia and Tibet (1883-1885). He returned to Siberia by crossing the Tien Shen to Issyk Kul, a lake on the west border of Sinkiang. Przhevalsky's final expedition was toward Lhasa (1888), a goal he always held but never reached. On Nov. 1, 1888, Przhevalsky died at Karakol on Issyk Kul. As a monument, a large cross was set up, and as a memorial, the town of Karakol was renamed Przhevalsk.
221pp with maps and illus. No inscriptions. Fine in near fine complete and unclipped dustwrapper. The wrapper is now in a loose protective sleeve.

£ 30
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Rossabi, Morris.
CHINA AND INNER ASIA. From 1368 to the Present Day.
Thames and Hudson.
1975
First edition.
A study of modern Chinese relations with Inner Asia from Ming China's contacts with Mongolia, Manchuria and Central Asia combined with analysis of Sino-Russian conflicts and compromises from the mid-17th century onwards.
320pp with index, bibliography, glossary. No inscriptions. Very good+ contents in very good price-clipped and lightly sunned dustwrapper which is now in a loose protective sleeve.

£ 40
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Savage-Landor, A. Henry.
IN THE FORBIDDEN LAND.
Heinemann.
1904
Fourth edition.
Savage-Landor crossed into Tibet from Kumaon without government permission and aimed to reach Lhasa. He was arrested near Lake Manasarowar, tortured and then released at Taklakot.
In original red cloth with black decoration. 302pp with illus. Text block text and square. No inscriptions. Slight general wear to cloth and light spine fading.

£ 695
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Schomberg, R.C.F.
KAFIRS AND GLACIERS.
Hopkinson.
1938
First edition.
Travels in Chitral. An extremely scarce and collectable work.
278pp with frontispiece, 25 illus and folding map complete at rear. In original blue cloth with gilt spine lettering. No inscriptions. Cloth is rather dull overall but text block is tight and square. Little browning or foxing on opening pages but map folds at rear are rather tanned. Pages in clean condition and turn easily. Overall, very good- contents / cloth.

Books 1 to 50 of 64
 

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