PHILBY, Harry St John Bridger. A Pilgrim in Arabia.

PHILBY, Harry St John Bridger. A Pilgrim in Arabia.PHILBY, Harry St John Bridger. A Pilgrim in Arabia. London: Hale. 1946. 8vo. Original red cloth, lettered and decorated in gilt, with the rarely seen dust wrapper (not price clipped); pp. [iv], 198; portrait frontispiece of the author, numerous illustrations from photographs; wrapper a little darkened and with marginal flaws, light discoloration to cloth; a little offsetting from endpapers, otherwise very good. First trade and illustrated edition

PHILBY, Harry St John Bridger. A Pilgrim in Arabia. London: Hale. 1946.

8vo. Original red cloth, lettered and decorated in gilt, with the rarely seen dust-wrapper (not price-clipped); pp. [iv], 198; portrait-frontispiece of the author, numerous illustrations from photographs; wrapper a little darkened and with marginal flaws, light discoloration to cloth; a little offsetting from endpapers, otherwise very good.

First trade and illustrated edition (first published in 1943 by the Golden Cockerell Press without photographic illustrations). After an early career in the Indian civil service and the Mesopotamian Expeditionary Force in 1915-17, Philby went on to pursue his fascination with the Arab world. His exploration of Arabia - he was the first to make an east-west traverse of the region - and his knowledge of its politics - he became an unofficial counsellor to Abdul Aziz ibn Saud and in 1930 embraced the Muslim faith - resulted in several works. A Pilgrim in Arabia offers first-hand accounts of the Pilgrimage to Mecca, of the cities of Madina and Riyadh, and of a journey through Persia. Particularly valuable are the photos of Saudi Arabia, mostly published only here. Philby's outspoken manner resulted in his exile from Saudi Arabia. He was also father of Harold (Kim) Philby, the spy.

SKU: 2124171