Far Eastern Forests
ST JOHN, Spenser Buckingham.
Life in the forests of the far east … With numerous illustrations … London, Smith, Elder and Co., 1862.
2 vols, 8vo, pp. xix, [3], 400, 3 (‘Recently published’), 16 (publisher’s ads dated May 1862), with 6 tinted lithographic plates, 4 hand-coloured plates of pitcher plants, and 2 folding maps; xviii, [2], 420, with 6 tinted lithographic plates and 1 folding map; all plates with tissue guards (browned); a couple of quires slightly loose, occasional light foxing, closed marginal tears to folding maps (without loss); very good in original publisher’s blue cloth, spines lettered in gilt the title within gilt frame, light brown endpapers; lower joint of vol. 1 partially split, some wear to extremities, a few light marks to covers.
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Life in the forests of the far east … With numerous illustrations …
First edition, a nice copy in the publisher’s binding and with their advertisements, of this richly illustrated account of pioneering expeditions on the island of Borneo by St John (1825-1910), who had been introduced to Sir James Brooke (the ‘White Raja’) in 1847, when Brooke was visiting England.
St John ‘was quickly caught by Brooke’s charm and accompanied him as private secretary the next year, when Brooke became British commissioner and governor of Labuan ... Thenceforth St John and Brooke were closely associated, though St John’s role was usually to tone down Brooke’s extravagances. St John had a Malay mistress, Dayang Kamariah, and they had three children; the local Anglican bishop and others protested about his “immorality”. St John was with Brooke during his final operations in 1849 against Malay pirates, and he accompanied Brooke to Brunei, the Sulu archipelago, and to Siam in 1850 ... St John acted temporarily as commissioner for Brooke (1851–5) and visited the north-western coast of Borneo and the north-eastern shore, ascending the principal rivers. Appointed in 1856 British consul-general at Brunei, he explored the country round the capital, and went further into the interior than any previous traveller. His habit of wearing native dress resulted in complaints to London ... He published his full and accurate journals, supplemented by other visitors’ testimonies, in two well-written and beautifully illustrated volumes entitled Life in the Forests of the Far East’ (ODNB).