Seven Years in Tibet -
Heinrich Harrer
1953 - Rupert Hart-Davis, London - First Edition in English
'Like the voyage of the Kon-Tiki, it deserves to take its place among the few great travel stories of our own times' – The Times
'Some books, like some mountains, are lonely and unrivalled peaks, and this is one of these.' – Economist
First edition, with an introduction by Lt.Col. Robert Peter Fleming OBE, British explorer and travel writer, brother of Ian Fleming, who had undertaken an epic solo journey across Asia in the '30s, Illustrated with 26 plates and one map.
The extraordinary story of the Austrian mountaineer and Olympic sportsman's 1943 escape from a British internment camp in India, his daring trek across the Himalayas, and his happy sojourn in Tibet, then, as now, a remote land little visited by foreigners. Warmly welcomed, he eventually became tutor to the Dalai Lama, teenaged god-king of the theocratic nation. The author's vivid descriptions of Tibetan rites and customs capture its unique traditions before the Chinese invasion in 1950, which prompted Harrer's departure. Provenance: From the Fleming archive assembled by bibliographer Jon Gilbert (pencil signature within).
Octavo (book size 23x15cm), pp. xiii [2 map] [1] 288. In publisher's blue cloth with gilt titles to spine, top edge with publisher’s red tint. Dust jacket priced ‘16s net’ to front flap. Condition: Fine but for some light spotting to edges, in bright near fine dust jacket with some minor wear to edges and and corners. Ref: 112593 Price: HK$ 4,500
'Some books, like some mountains, are lonely and unrivalled peaks, and this is one of these.' – Economist
First edition, with an introduction by Lt.Col. Robert Peter Fleming OBE, British explorer and travel writer, brother of Ian Fleming, who had undertaken an epic solo journey across Asia in the '30s, Illustrated with 26 plates and one map.
The extraordinary story of the Austrian mountaineer and Olympic sportsman's 1943 escape from a British internment camp in India, his daring trek across the Himalayas, and his happy sojourn in Tibet, then, as now, a remote land little visited by foreigners. Warmly welcomed, he eventually became tutor to the Dalai Lama, teenaged god-king of the theocratic nation. The author's vivid descriptions of Tibetan rites and customs capture its unique traditions before the Chinese invasion in 1950, which prompted Harrer's departure. Provenance: From the Fleming archive assembled by bibliographer Jon Gilbert (pencil signature within).
Octavo (book size 23x15cm), pp. xiii [2 map] [1] 288. In publisher's blue cloth with gilt titles to spine, top edge with publisher’s red tint. Dust jacket priced ‘16s net’ to front flap. Condition: Fine but for some light spotting to edges, in bright near fine dust jacket with some minor wear to edges and and corners. Ref: 112593 Price: HK$ 4,500