xxiii, [1 errata], 503, [1] pp. Folding map, 18 plates accompanying text, and 8 additional botanical plates at rear. (Folio) 32.5x25 cm (12¾x10"), period calf, gilt ruled spine, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers and edges. First Edition.
Valued for the first accurate chart of the Irrawaddy River, and one of the most detailed accounts of Burma and the Kingdom of Ava. A major in the British Army in India, where he arrived in 1788, Symes was sent in 1795 on a diplomatic mission to Burma, and achieved success, obtaining from the Emperor of Ava a royal order permitting a British agent to reside in Rangoon to protect the interests of British residents there. The work presents not only an account of the mission, but of Burma itself, its culture, history, etc. This copy complete with all plates called for in the directions to binder. With decorative bookplate of Arcadi Gluckman, U.S. Army.
Arcadi Gluckman was born in 1896, a career military man who ultimately became a colonel in the United States Army. He was recognized as a leading authority in the fields of military handguns, the history of gun making, and the evolution of American long guns, all subjects on which he wrote a number of books, including United States Muskets, Rifles and Carbines; American Gun Makers; and Catalogue of United States Martial Short Arms. Gluckman lived in Carmel, California.
Condition:
Wear to boards with rubbing to extremities, glue repair to front joints, repair work to head of spine; front hinge reinforced with cloth tape, folding map with edge creasing and large closed tear with tape repair to verso, occasional light foxing and offsetting; overall very good.