This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/18/2025
[INDIA]. IVES, Edward (1719-1786). A Voyage From England to India, in the Year MDCCLIV. And an Historical Narrative of The Operations of the Squadron and Army in India…. [and] Journey from Persia to England by an unusual route… London: Edward and Charles Dilly, 1773. 4to. Illustrated with 2 folding maps and 13 engraved plates. xii, [1]-506 pp. Approximately 10 ¼ x 8". Bound in contemporary full calf, spine ruled in gilt, five raised bands, red gilt morocco lettering label (binding worn, soiled, with some color correction, joints cracking with some evidence of earlier repairs and color correction, hinges repaired, front hinge starting, text toned with occasional soiling, foxing, a few gutters overopened or cracking, some external creases to folding maps, one folding map with tears near mount, fp. scuffed). Good. FIRST EDITION. Ives was the surgeon on the flagship Kent, and served closely to Vice Admiral Watson, Commander-in-Chief of the East Indies. This title has information about medicinal plants and other information on India; it also includes information on the pirate stronghold, Geriah Fort, and Watson's attack on it, as well as Ives' return through the Middle East. His journey home took him though many locations in the Middle East, including Kuwait: “In connection with Kuwait, Ives's text is especially important for the insight it gives into the economy of caravan traffic and Kuwait's place in it. Many sources present Kuwait as a port, oriented towards the sea. Ives shows another side of Kuwait. We see that the Shaikhs of Kuwait are quite mobile individuals, travelling to Syria with their camels. The Shaikh is landbound, occupied with caravans … The seaward side of Kuwait's economy was … controlled by the Al-Khalifa family." (Slot, 135). “Ives' presence at many of the transactions which he describes and his personal intimacy with Watson give his historical narrative an unusual importance, and his account of the manners and customs of the countries he visited are those of an enlightened and acute observer [...] The appendix contains an 'Account of the Diseases prevalent in Adml. Watson's squadron, a description of most of the Trees, Shrubs, and Plants of India, with their medicinal virtues.'" (Cox).