8vo. Volume I: Oman & Nakab el Hajar: xvi, 446 pp., engraved frontis, 1 plate, 2 folding maps of which one of the Arabian Peninsula (scuffed at edges and small tear), few scattered pencil annotations and underlining / Volume II: Sinai, Survey of the Gulf of Akabah, Coasts of Arabia and Nubia: x, 472 pp., [4 list of books printed by Murray], engraved frontis, 3 maps, 4 engraved plates with captions, Appendix: The Route of the Pilgrims from Cairo to Mecca, English 19th century half calf blue binding with corners, marbled and gilded end papers, gilt top edges, gilt raised bands on spine, gilt lines on boards, covers slightly scuffed, Ex-Libris on end papers, from the Library of Major General Sir Percy Zachariah Cox (1864-1937) one of the major figures in the partition of the Middle East as we know it now; scattered foxing, heavy on frontispieces, otherwise set in good condition, John Murray, London, first edition, 1838.

Synopsis

FIRST EDITION. A rare glimpse of this region at this time from a western perspective.
James Raymond Wellsted (1805-1842) was a surveyor and traveller. In 1830 he was appointed second lieutenant of the East India Company’s ship Palinurus which made a survey of the Gulf of Akabah and the northern part of the Red Sea, and in 1833 surveyed the southern coast of Arabia. He spent two months exploring the island of Socotra and twice visited Oman, in 1835 and 1837. On board the surveying ship Palinurus he was the first European to set foot in the interior of Oman.
He retired from the Service in 1839, dying a few years later in 1842. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and Royal Astronomical Society.
Bibliographic references: Macro, n°2283 – Weber I, 67 – Howgego III, 635. Gay 3603; Hilmy II, 324.