New York: John Murray, 1881. First Edition, First Printing. Decorated Cloth Hardcover.

Full cloth, decorated in black and gold on covers and spine. The bindings are firm and square. The text clean, with light even toning. Shelf handling wear with repaired corners and edges; spine tips rubbed. Armorial bookplate of J. R. Cathcart in Vol 1.

8vo; 8.25 inches tall; xxxi (3) 273 pp.( ); ix, (3), 283 pages.,( ) 32 pages. of adverts. Color folded map attached at the rear of Vol 1. Tissue guarded frontispieces plus 12 engraved plates and numerous vignettes. First Edition, First Printing. Complete in Two Volumes

Good / No Dust Jacket As Issued. Item #15634

A classic of travel literature, describing the 1879 expedition across the Nejd from Beirut, south into the Great Nefud, north to Baghdad and east to the Arabian Gulf, undertaken by Anne Blunt and her husband Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, well-established British explorers.

One would expect the granddaughter of Lord Bryon and the wife of the extravagant Arab scholar and poet to be an exotic and flamboyant figure.  Fact of the matter is that Lady Anne Blunt was one of the coolest and most level-headed of all the lady travellers of the late 19th century.

This work recounts Lady Blunt's extensive travels in the Middle East and is based on her own journals. She is particularly noted to be the first European woman to ride through the Arabian desert. She describes with careful descriptions natural, historical and political situations.

Lady Anne was a keen artist, horsewoman and traveler. She recorded her experiences in a series of diaries and in her beautifully illustrated sketchbooks, which are held at the British Library.

When Anne was only 15 her father took her on many continental travels where she learnt four languages and began sketching the scenery she encountered. It was whilst travelling that she met her future husband, Wilfred Blunt.

Anne’s passion for breeding the Arabian horses she loved has had a huge impact on the breed itself and most Arabian horses today would have at least one Crabbet ancestor. For this passion she became known and respected as the ‘noble lady of the horses’ by many of her friends.

The couple began the Crabbet Arabian Stud in 1878 breeding only with horses with excellent confirmation and lineage. Anne’s diaries reveal their travels across the desert visiting sheikhs and providing critiques of the horses they saw. Anne had a good eye for confirmation

Lady Anne Blunt was noted for buying Arabian horses from Bedouin tribesmen and the Egyptian Ali Pasha Sheriff during her travels.

Background Information:
Bookplate: Centered open wreath with head of poodle; ribbon banner above "J.R. CATHCART" and ribbon banner below dog "COURAGE"

Ref: Untold Lives Blog; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography; Robinson, 6

Price: $1,200.00