A Geographical Memoir of the Persian Empire, accompanied by a map.

£8,500 · Offered by Shapero Rare Books

Arabian Gulf and Bahrain Kinneir's Geographical Memoir is one of the rarities of Persian travel literature, and rarely found with the map which was issued separately for two guineas. The book contains an account of the geography of Persia, a description of its provinces with an appendix of the routes between the principal towns. The author was an Anglo-Indian officer and political assistant to Sir John Malcolm on his mission to the Persian court. The map is focused on modern-day Iran, but also covers parts of the Caucasus, Central Asia, modern Pakistan and the Arabian side of the Persian Gulf, where named locations include Sharjah ('Shurga'), Umm al-Quwain ('Murgaveen') and Ra's al-Khaymah ('Rasool Khyma'), all in the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain. The text includes a short section on the Arabian Gulf, including mention of Bahrain: 'The island of Bahrein, on the Arabian shore, is one of the finest in the Gulf. It is covered with villages and date-gardens; and the town and fort of Medina, which contains about eight or nine hundred houses...' First edition; 2 vols, 4to (31 x 25 cm); contemporary diced calf, rebacked to style with gilt spine in six compartments, gilt arms to boards, and small shelf mark and inscription to front endpaper, a little toning, engraved folding map opening to 96 x 128 cm with some expert restoration, in separate cloth slipcase with leather mouth and gilt lettering piece, a very good copy; viii, 486, [2] (errata and ads) pp. Diba p. 73; Ghani p. 209

• Binding: Hardcover

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