VOYAGES AND TRAVELS TO INDIA, CEYLON, THE RED SEA, ABYSSINIA, AND EGYPT, IN THE YEARS 1802, 1803, 1804, 1805, AND 1806 by VALENTIA George Annesley, Viscount - 1809

London: printed for William Miller, by W. Bulmer, 1809. First edition. Valentia accompanied the British mission to Abyssinia, to secure a port on the Red Sea in order to consolidate British defenses, in case Napoleon should try to seize Egypt. Includes good descriptions of Lucknow, Benares, Seringapatam, Madras and Ceylon, and an overview of the inhabitants and history of the Abyssinian regions of Aksum and Adwa. 3 vol. in-4°, xiv, 495 + iv, 520 + iii, 506 pp. (28,5 x 22 cm), half-titles, 69 engraved plates and maps (12 folding, many after Henry Salt), advertisement leaf for "24 Views..." at the end of volume 3, occasional dampstaining, one or two short repairs, modern half calf reusing early boards travel|egypte

Three volumes. [12]+496+title. [iv]+520; title+ [iii]+506 sixty-nine plates. including four large folding charts and other foldout charts. Quarto (11 1/2" x 9 1/4") bound half leather with red labels in gilt lettering to spine over black cloth boards and marbled endpapers and gpages. (Abbey Travel 515 (note) Fumagalli 1439. Lowndes p. 2747. Hilmy I, p. 38. Brunet V, 1034; 138; Mendelssohn 1, 73) First edition.
The Right Honourable George Annesley, better known as Lord Valentia, the title from his youth, Annesley, travelled widely and collected plants from India and other parts of the world he visited. He established a ten-acre arboretum in the grounds of Arley Castle, Upper Arley, Worcestershire, England in the first half of the 19th century. He also commissioned the remodeling of the house into an asymmetrical Gothic castle, completed in 1844, the year of his death. Annesley died, aged seventy four in 1844. He was a fellow of the Royal Society (1796) and the Literary Society (1796).
In 1802 Henry… Read More

William Miller, 1809-01-01. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 3 volume set. Large quartos, 30 cm. vi, [8], 495 pp.; [4], iv, 520 pp.; [4], iv, 506 pp. 6 plates, maps and plans, 2 plates laid in loose in the second volume. 12 of the maps and charts are folding. 2 large maps of the Red Sea and a large plan of Alexandria. Bound in modern 3/4 black Moroccan leather. Marbled boards. Gilt spine. 5 raised bands. Marbled page ends. Fine bindings and covers. Two loose plates provided supplied from another copy, larger size than plates in this volume. One plate detached in Volume II. Scattered foxing to text block. Offsetting and foxing to plates. Persistent tear to entire Volume I text block at head margins. Tear along gutter folds of folding plates, long tear to Red Sea map.. Loose plates supplied soiled and chipped along edges. <br> Valentia accompanied the British mission to Abyssinia, to secure a port on the Red Sea. The British were attempting to consolidate their position against… Read More