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18 CHEESMAN, Robert Ernest. In Unknown Arabia. London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1926 A vivid, unvarnished record of desert travel First edition, first impression, extremely scarce in the dust jacket. Cheesman was “the first European to reach the remote oasis of Jabrin, fixing its precise position, mapping large areas of surrounding desert and identifying the site of ancient Gerra” (Howgego). For this work, which is the subject of the present account, he was awarded the RGS Gill Memorial Medal. Cheesman (1878–1962) encountered Sir Percy Cox, who contributes a foreword here, when serving with the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force, and the two shared an interest in ornithology: “Together they undertook to collect the avifauna of Iraq . . . While Cox was high commissioner in Iraq, Cheesman was his private secretary (1920–23). He was elected to the British Ornithologists’ Club in 1919, a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in 1920, and a corresponding member of the Zoological Society of London in 1921” ( ODNB ). His geographical work began in 1921 when “he was placed in charge of charting the western shore of the Gulf of Salwah” (Howgego). Cox describes this handsomely produced book as, “a vivid, unvarnished record of desert travel, pursued often under the most trying circumstances, with imperturbable patience and perseverance . . . enlivened throughout by a quiet sense of humour”. Octavo. Original dark green cloth, bevelled boards, gilt-lettered spine, gilt block of camel and rider to front cover, top edge gilt. With dust jacket. With half-tone portrait frontispiece of Ibn Sa’ud and 32 other plates, 2 full-page maps to the text, large folding coloured map at rear. Fore and bottom edges foxed and scattered foxing internally, jacket foxed and spine toned, some nicks, chips, creasing and closed tears. A superior copy of the book, bright and square, with a very presentable example of the decidedly elusive jacket. ¶ Howgego III, C32. £2,500 [159458]
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19 COX, Sir Percy – GRAVES, Philip. The Life of Sir Percy Cox. Foreword by the late Sir Arnold Wilson, M.P. London: Hutchinson & Co., 1941 An architect of the “British lake” in the Gulf
sharjah international book fair
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