Maggs Bros Ltd. Rare Books, Manuscripts, Autographs and first editions.

First edition. 53 collotype plates, including 1 large folding panorama, each with a descriptive letterpress. Oblong 4to. Original cloth, slightly rubbed back board, but overall a very good copy. Unpaginated. Calcutta, Johnston & Hoffmann, [n.d.]

John Claude White spent over twenty years as a political officer in the Himalayas. Arguably the hight point of this career came in 1903 when he was asked to join the Tibet Frontier Commission under the command of Francis Younghusband. They were accompanied by Captain Frederick O'Connor, who acted as interpreter, and an escort of two hundred Indian troops under the command of Brigadier-General J.R.L. Macdonald. The British officers' secret and potentially sensitive mission was to negotiate in favour of British interests in Asia.White's famous photographs of Tibet and Lhasa were the first such record published. A 1905 promotional catalogue from Johnston and Hoffmann tells us that the pictures were first issued in two formats: individually, or in albums of half-tone or carbon prints. The company later issued the pictures in a two-volume set of albums, dated 1907-8, with letterpress descriptions by C.B. Bayley. However, this publication was withdrawn almost immediately for fear that it gave away too many British secrets to the Chinese; only six copies appear extant. Shortly after, the company issued the smaller, single-volume edition offered here, but it appears that this too was removed from circulation, hence its rarity. Very rare. Not in BL. Only one copy in OCLC.

WHITE, John Claude Stock Code: TR29321