The Unveiling of Lhasa, with Illustrations and Map
London: Arnoldo Mondadori, 1905. First Edition. Octavo. Item #025612
Third impression. xvi, 304 pages, folded map, plates. Two things are of quite diverse interest regarding this scarce volume. First, the 1903-1904 British campaign in Tibet where they entered the "Forbidden City" which had not been approached by the Britons in nearly a century and the result was that much of the layers of mystery, exoticism and high adventure were stripped away and it was this work by Candler who accompanied the Younghusband Expedition that dispelled the wild speculations. This was the last of the forbidden cities to be mapped. Up to that time, what had been "an unknown land of dreams" now could be seen in terms of its realities. Second, those who will remember the spurious accounts of Lobsan Rampa will remember that by the 1970's scholars could point not only to the works he copied in order to establish his claim of having been a Tibetan mystic, he reproduced whole sections word for word. Candler's work is one of the best first hand accounts of Tibet that opened up the Western minds to the realities of Tibet. Beautifully bound in full green crushed morocco, raised bands with compartments lettered and decorated in gilt, top edge gilt, marbled endpaper, slight occasional foxing, housed within a cloth slipcase with original front cover design mounted. While the book is a very handsome volume, the binder has spelled Candler's name as Chandler on the spine.
Price: $325.00