Traveller s Prelude, Beyond Euphrates, The Coast of Incense, Dust in the Lion's Paw -
Freya Stark
1950 - John Murray, London - First Editions
A complete and finely bound four volume first edition set of the autobiographies by the ‘Grande Old Lady’ of travellers, the intrepid and pioneering Freya Stark (1893-1993).
Dame Freya Stark’s ‘figure has become the image for an archetypal British eccentric abroad – comfortable and regal, colourfully draped, and invariably topped with an elaborate titfer, perhaps astride a camel (’always so obliging’) or bobbing up-river on an inflated goatskin waving serenely to passers-by – but there is a far more serious side to her career. In all her journeys she has been able to distil and communicate a rich philosophy of travel and to illustrate the art of travelling in time as well as place. She carries the past with her, whether discovering long-buried fortresses in the Valley of the Assassins in Luristan, or tracing the footsteps of the ancient incense traders of Arabia, always teaching and learning at the same time. She is, quite simply, a classic.’ – Jane Robinson, Wayward Women. Born in Paris in 1893 to Italian and English parents, and brought up in Devon and the Veneto, Freya Stark’s travels through the Middle East and Asia were inspired by a copy of ‘One thousand and one nights’, which she was given for her ninth birthday. Her journeys took her from Syria, Lebanon, and Persia, to Afghanistan, Nepal, and China. She also worked as a journalist in Baghdad in the early 1930s. She has remained a significant personage of women’s exploration and travel history.
References: Robinson Wayward Women 29.
Four octavo volumes (binding size 23.2x16cm), pp. [2] xii [2] 346 [2]; [2] xiii [3] 341 [3]; [2] xiii [3] 287 [3]; [2] xii 297 [3]. Elegantly bound in three-quarter green morocco over original green cloth boards with gilt facsimile signatures to uppers, spine in six compartments with gilt lettering, top edges gilt, others untrimmed. Condition: Fine in fine bindings Ref: 111907 Price: HK$ 11,000
Dame Freya Stark’s ‘figure has become the image for an archetypal British eccentric abroad – comfortable and regal, colourfully draped, and invariably topped with an elaborate titfer, perhaps astride a camel (’always so obliging’) or bobbing up-river on an inflated goatskin waving serenely to passers-by – but there is a far more serious side to her career. In all her journeys she has been able to distil and communicate a rich philosophy of travel and to illustrate the art of travelling in time as well as place. She carries the past with her, whether discovering long-buried fortresses in the Valley of the Assassins in Luristan, or tracing the footsteps of the ancient incense traders of Arabia, always teaching and learning at the same time. She is, quite simply, a classic.’ – Jane Robinson, Wayward Women. Born in Paris in 1893 to Italian and English parents, and brought up in Devon and the Veneto, Freya Stark’s travels through the Middle East and Asia were inspired by a copy of ‘One thousand and one nights’, which she was given for her ninth birthday. Her journeys took her from Syria, Lebanon, and Persia, to Afghanistan, Nepal, and China. She also worked as a journalist in Baghdad in the early 1930s. She has remained a significant personage of women’s exploration and travel history.
References: Robinson Wayward Women 29.
Four octavo volumes (binding size 23.2x16cm), pp. [2] xii [2] 346 [2]; [2] xiii [3] 341 [3]; [2] xiii [3] 287 [3]; [2] xii 297 [3]. Elegantly bound in three-quarter green morocco over original green cloth boards with gilt facsimile signatures to uppers, spine in six compartments with gilt lettering, top edges gilt, others untrimmed. Condition: Fine in fine bindings Ref: 111907 Price: HK$ 11,000