Vanished Kingdoms: A Woman Explorer in Tibet, China & Mongolia, 1921-1925

New York, NY: Aperture / Peabody Museum of Archeology and Ethology, 2003. Softcover. VG (previous owner's insctiption on inside front cover, minimal shelf wear, all pages clear and intact). Black pictorial wraps with gold and red lettering, 190 pp., bw illustrations throughout, a few in color. "In the early 1920s, the last great age of the world explorers, a remarkable young woman, Janet Elliott Wulsin, set out with her husband, Frederick Wulsin, for the far reaches of Tibet, China, and Mongolia to study the people, flora, and fauna of the region. Janet's strenuous, eventful exploration is detailed by a text enriched with vivid observations from her candid personal letters. The journey proved to be a test of the Wulsins' endurance and of their relationship ...While in Asia, Janet and Frederick Wulsin took many extraordinary photographs, which form the heart of this richly-produced publication. They documented medieval walled cities, Mongol caravans, remote villages in Kansu, elaborate Buddhist rituals, and, perhaps most remarkably, were allowed to photograph the interiors of several of the great Tibetan lamaseries - including Kumbum, Labrang, and Choni - many of which have since been destroyed. Several rare, hand-painted lantern slides are reproduced here in splendid color. Vanished Kingdoms also draws heavily upon the rich archives of personal writings by Janet and the other members of the expedition. Photographic records of the worlds the Wulsins explored are rare, and this book offers a perspective on an expedition, a time, and a place that continues to command our interest and attention." - inside cover description.