The Trans-Caucasian Campaign of the Turkish Army under Omer Pasha. - 1856

Edinburgh and London.: William Blackwood and Sons.. 1856.. Chromolithographed frontispiece of The Battle on the Ingour and three other full page illustrations, folding plan and map, title vignette and in the text, 19.3 x 12.3 cm, original calf, gilt-ruled boards, spine gilt decorated in compartments with raised bands, crimson title label, marbled fore-edges, contemporary school-prize presentation inscription, the frontispiece spotted, affecting the margins and verso, title browned, the folding map a little spotted with a professionally sealed marginal fold tear, in good condition. Account of Omer Pasha and his military exploits in the Trans-Caucasian region by Laurence Oliphant, Secretary to Lord Elgin between 1853 and 1861 and companion to the Duke of Newcastle on a visit to the Circassian coast during the Crimean War. An intriguing figure, Oliphant was an accomplished diplomat and widely travelled, writing a satirical novel 'Piccadilly', as well as works on esoteric spiritualism. A contemporary reviewer noted that it was a '...great rarity for a literary man to follow an army across such a richly tinted panorama, easily and pleasantly sketching the people as they come out to see the soldiers and the guns, the landscape as it widens and varies, the battle as it explodes.' (The Athenaeum, April, 1856). The superb illustrations were a last-minute addition arising from a contribution from fellow traveller Herr Zuther, the artist who accompanied Omer Pasha on his campaign. Not in Blackmer or Atabey. This item is held off-site. Please note there may be a few days delay while it is brought into our shop for viewing or mailing to you. Thank you for your understanding. .