St. John, Spencer

Life in the Forests of the Far East; or Travels in Northern Borneo

Hardcover, London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1863. Second Edition. Very Good. Second Edition, Revised. Complete 2 volume set. Volume 1 Octavo, pp xvi, 406, frontispiece plus 9 more plates, 4 of which are beautiful vibrant full color illustrations of flowers, 2 large fold-out maps. Volume 2 Octavo, pp xviii, 420, frontispiece plus 5 more plates, 1 large fold-out map, 5 appendices. Both volumes bound in matching half-leather with marbled paper covered boards. Binding is contemporary with publications (circa 1870). Both volumes have significant rubbing to the leather spines, rubbing to volume 2 heavier. Rubbing to all corners and spine ends with some loss of leather. Vol 1 has age spotting to pastedowns, endpapers, frontispiece and title page. Occasional age spotting to text. Volume 2 has occasional age spotting. First large fold-out map in vol 1 has a 6 inch closed tear. Second large fold-out map in vol 1 has a 2 inch closed tear. Large fold-out map in vol 2 has a long open tear along one of the verticle folding seams, this map also has moderate age spotting. Spencer St. John (1825-1910) was British Consul in Brunei. Perhaps more interestingly, St. John was the personal secretary of James Brooke, the white Rajah of Sarawak. Sarawak is today the largest of the 13 states of Malaysia, located on the north coast of Borneo and has an area almost equal to the other 12 Malaysian states combined. This 2 volume work is Spencer St. John's memoirs of traveling around and exploring Sarawak and Borneo in general. He describes his two ascents of Mount Kinabalu as well as his take on the natural history, people, history, and culture of the island of Borneo and Sarawak in particular. Ships same or next business day very well protected in a box. This is a 2 volume set and international shipping may well require extra shipping charges in addition to the charges quoted by this website. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall. [Item #79547]

Price: $1,250.00