[Rarebooks] FS - Ashton's 1857 "Life in Bombay"

[GREENFIELD BOOKS]

*SHEPHERD, William Ashton. /LIFE IN BOMBAY AND THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE 
PERSIAN GULF/*. Bound in original blue cloth, embossed in blind, with 
all edges gilt, and a gilt illustration on the front board of an 
elephant tossing a tiger. Richard Bentley, London. No date of 
publication stated (c. 1857). 1st edition. Small 8vo (18 cm), pp. xi, 
236. Remains of "prize" bookplate to inside front board dated 1860; 
former owner's name underneath dated 1944.

The perfunctory Preface is dated February, 1857, and in it the author 
recounts that "The whole narrative [of this book] is from a personal 
Journal, wherein I endeavoured to sketch things as they actually 
appeared, and to recount their striking characteristics". With a 
tissue-guarded frontispiece and five plates. This is a very scarce book; 
no copies currently being offered for sale, and only one copy shown as 
being held in an institutional library. WorldCat does show another book 
by Shepherd, published in 1857, but bearing a somewhat different title: 
"/From Bombay to Bushire, and Bassora; including an account of the 
Present State of Persia, and notes on the Persian War/". No 
illustrations are mentioned for this title and it is slightly larger in 
format. There are 14 institutional holdings of this title, although a 
number of them are on microfilm. This title is also available as one of 
those abominable print-on-demand books (the book equivalent of a TV 
dinner).

Not much is known about the author. He isn't mentioned in the Dictionary 
of National Biography, although there is a reference to him in the 1853 
Medical Times and Gazette, announcing the appointment of William Ashton 
Shepherd as assistant surgeon and as arriving in Bombay to take up the 
post on April 19, 1853. The binding of our copy is in rather poor 
condition, with the front joint being split, and both hinges being 
cracked. The cloth is also rubbed. The binding is a bit sprung, but the 
contents are unmarked, save for some marginal age-toning and the 
occasional spot of foxing. A competent binder could restore this binding 
at a modest cost.

Price: $350.00.

Terms of sale - the price is in USD. Postage and packing charge will be 
$8.50. Payment by check, credit card, or wire transfer. Returnable 
within seven days of receipt if not as described.

 
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