BURTON, Richard Francis (1821–1890)
Falconry in the Valley of the Indus
Place: London
Year: 1852
Edition: First edition; the only edition published during Burton’s lifetime. Only 500 copies were printed.
Price on Request
Ask for price?
First edition of one of Richard Francis Burton’s earliest books, devoted to the practice of falconry in Sindh and the Indus Valley, based upon his experiences in the region during the mid 1840s.
Burton encountered accomplished local falconers while serving with the Bombay Army in Sindh and became deeply interested in their methods, terminology and birds of prey. The work discusses the hawks used in Scinde, their capture, training and management, and the techniques of hunting with species including the shikrah, goshawk and other falcons. It combines sporting observation with Burton’s characteristic interest in local language, customs and natural history.
Published in 1852, Falconry in the Valley of the Indus followed Burton’s early works on Goa and Sindh and forms an important part of his writings on the Indian subcontinent. Although it attracted relatively little commercial success on publication, it subsequently became highly regarded among collectors of Burton and literature on falconry.
Collation: 8vo. xii, [4], 107, [1] pp., with 8 pp. publisher’s advertisements. Complete with all plates as issued.
Description: Complete with 4 tinted lithographic plates, comprising a frontispiece by Ford & West after Josef Mathias Wolf and 3 further lithographs by B. Waterhouse Hawkins after sketches by Lieutenant McMullin.
Binding: Later full brown calf, boards decorated with blind-tooled floral borders and gilt rules, upper board titled in gilt Falconry in the Valley of the Indus / Richard F. Burton. Spine with raised bands, blind tooling, gilt rules and black morocco lettering pieces.
Condition: Later binding in generally good condition, with light rubbing and minor wear to extremities. Internally, generally clean with scattered light spotting and occasional handling marks. Lithographic plates remain well defined, with some marginal toning and spotting. Complete with all four plates as issued.
This item is non-exportable.
Free Shipping for all orders within India.
Falconry in the Valley of the Indus by Richard Francis Burton is available to view at our store.
Related products
Le Prince Alexis Soltykoff
Voyages Dans L'Inde
Price on Request
Humphry Repton & Daniell
Designs for The Pavillion At Brighton
Price on Request
Carel Williem Meredith Van De Velde
Gezigten uit Neerlands Indie
Price on Request
