Reminiscences of Travel in China and India in 1848. [Together with the author's undated 12-page supplementary pamphlet,] Introductory Remarks to a Residence in Australia, and to Travels in China and India. DE SALIS, William Andrew Salius Fane.

First edition, printed for private circulation only, together with the rare supplement and a loosely inserted 1949 manuscript note from John Fane de Salis (1897-1973), the author's great-nephew, sending the book to "Rodolph", almost certainly his cousin, Captain Rodolph Henry Fane de Salis (1890-1972). A lawyer by training, De Salis (1812-1896) first ventured east in 1842, pursuing business opportunities in Australia. In 1848, he undertook to travel the world, the grand route taking in islands in the South Seas, Hong Kong, Macao, Canton, Singapore, Ceylon, and Bombay, and ending in Southampton. His 50-page narrative, reflecting the region's growing absorption into networks of international commerce, describes dealings with Sir John Francis Davis, the governor of Hong Kong (they subsequently shared the voyage to Singapore) and networking with the grand merchants Howqua, Pontinqua, and Hadji Mirza Aga Abou, a Persian opium and silk merchant and a dominant force in the China trade. In Bombay, he witnesses the early stages of its transformation into a port thriving on the back of steam- and railway-powered industrialization. The supplementary pamphlet elaborates on his early business career in Australia and his dealings with Sir George Gipps and other prominent figures. The illustrations reproduce several sketches made in and around Hong Kong ("Victoria"; "The Archipelago of Islands, near Hongkong"), Singapore, India, and the Middle East ("The Cantonments of Aden from the Kyber Pass"; "Mocha"; "The St. Katharine Range, with Mount Sinai and the Ancient Sea Beach of the Red Sea"). Subsequently, De Salis nurtured emerging global networks of finance, trade, and sea travel as a director and then chairman of the P&O Steam Navigation Company and as the chairman of the London Chartered Bank of Australia. He was also involved with the Australian Agricultural Company and the Peel River Land and Mineral Company and elected to a fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society. He is credited with arranging the first mail ship routes from Sydney to London and Southampton. WorldCat records six copies only of the Reminiscences (British Library, National Maritime Museum, National Library of Australia, Library of Congress, Peabody Essex, and Cleveland Public Library) and one separate entry for the supplement (British Library). Kaul, Early Writings on India, 2183. See Ferguson 3789. Quarto. With lithographed frontispiece showing Victoria Island, Hong Kong, and 31 lithographed plates, all after author's sketches. Original reddish brown half sheep, spine ruled in gilt, dark purple pebble-grain cloth sides, front cover lettered in gilt, black coated endpapers, edges gilt. Light wear to spine, a few splash marks to boards, front cover sunned, tips bumped, front inner hinge starting at foot, text and illustrations fresh: very good.