Falconry in the Valley of the Indus.

First Edition of this early Burton title, nominally a record of the sport of falconry as practiced by the landed gentry in Sindh, but also a significant record of their culture as the British sought to incorporate them into the Empire. The book features a remarkable autobiographical postscript. Never common in any form, Falconry in the Valley of the Indus was published in an edition of 500 by Burton’s friend Van Voorst and proved slow to sell. Van Voorst never gave in to the temptation to remainder the title and Burton continued to receive small amounts from its sales for some years.

Large 12mo. Original purple-brown bead-ribbed cloth, titles to spine gilt, double-ruled panel to boards in blind, neatly rebacked, original spine laid down, new endpapers. Sepia-tint lithographic frontispiece and 3 other similar plates. Marginal light browning, else very good, the cloth a little sunned at the spine and edges.