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Details
ST. JOHN, Spenser (1825-1910). Life in the Forests of the Far East. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1862. 2 vols, 8° (220 x 140mm). Half-titles. 3 folding lithographic maps and 16 plates, 4 hand-coloured, the remainder tinted, 16pp. publisher's ads at end of vol. I dated May 1862. (Occasional light spotting, one map with very short tear at fold.) Original publisher's blue cloth, chocolate brown endpapers, pastedowns in vol. II with printed publisher's ads (front hinge repaired in vol. I, extremities lightly rubbed). Provenance: Rt. Hon. Malcolm Macdonald P.C., O.M. (booklabel).
RARE FIRST EDITION. The author was private secretary to Sir James Brooke, British commissioner and governor of Labuan. St. John had a Malay mistress with whom he had three children. Missionaries and the local Anglican bishop complained of his immoral lifestyle, and St. John responded with the present work, which also describes his travels and botanical observations. 'TWO WELL-WRITTEN AND BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED VOLUMES' (ODNB). (2)
RARE FIRST EDITION. The author was private secretary to Sir James Brooke, British commissioner and governor of Labuan. St. John had a Malay mistress with whom he had three children. Missionaries and the local Anglican bishop complained of his immoral lifestyle, and St. John responded with the present work, which also describes his travels and botanical observations. 'TWO WELL-WRITTEN AND BEAUTIFULLY ILLUSTRATED VOLUMES' (ODNB). (2)