Beyond the Caspian.: A Naturalist in Central Asia.

Edinburgh & London: Oliver and Boyd,, 1949. First edition, first impression. This is a fascinating narrative of Carruthers's journey through Samarkand, into the Karakul, Hissar Mountain Range, and the Pamir Mountains, during which he noted the wildlife of the regions, and stalked the elusive Bukhara wild sheep; a richly illustrated work, in the attractive dust jacket. Douglas Carruthers (1882-1962) was a British explorer trained in land survey and taxidermy. He went with the British Museum Expedition to Ruwenzori (1905-6) and travelled in Russian Turkestan (1907-8), researching wild sheep. Further to this, he worked in the Middle East section of the War Office during the First World War. His work "showed alertness to the impact of climatic and physical variations on all forms of life: a thought which ran through most of his lecturing and writing. He did some work on climatic conditions in central Asia and continued some of the work started by Ellsworth Huntington and other geographers and explorers. He was interested in the idea that in the course of centuries a process of desiccation had been going on in the centre of the continent. This induced him to work in getting information about the old civilizations which had arisen and disappeared in central Asia, thereby adding to what had been done by Sven Hedin, Aurel Stein, and others" (ODNB). Octavo. Original reddish brown cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt, top edge red. With pictorial dust jacket. With coloured frontispiece and 5 similar plates, 15 half-tone photographic plates, of which one double-page, folding coloured map at end. Minor bubbling of cloth, a very good copy, bright and square in slightly scuffed but very good jacket, small tear to head of front panel repaired on the verso with archival tape. Czech p. 44; Ghani p. 68; Yakushi C41.