Abbe David's Diary - being an account of the French naturalist's journeys and observations in China in the years 1866 to 1869 by Abbe David (Pere David). [Translated by Helen M. Fox] - 1949

Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1949. A small number of illustrations on tinted paper, octavo, pp xxxii, 302, very clean internally, green cloth very slightly marked, the dustwrapper is a little worn and foxed, with several small pieces missing on the margins, a slightly larger peice missing from the rear cover and a small closed tear on the front, but now nicely protected in a removable clear cover. ["David was truly a superb naturalist, with extensive knowledge in geology, mineralogy, ornithology, zoology, and botany. He also had in his character an innate respect for people and their culture, no matter how foreign they may have seemed to him. It was this, and his gentle manner that allowed him to travel to regions of China where strangers, let alone foreigners, were rarely made to feel welcome. His early collections were so much more than expected - the quality and number of specimens was overwhelming, but it was the careful documentation that made his contributions to the Museum so valuable. Word came back from France that such a fine contributor should be freed from his teaching duties and allowed to pursue his collections full time. His second collecting expedition was to Mupim on the Tibetan frontier where he found the flora to be so richly varied that he decided to collect in a careful and methodical way, lest he miss some tiny treasure. "]. First Edition. Cloth. Very Good/Slightly worn and frayed.