Where the Strange Trails Go Down: Sulu, Borneo, Celebes, Bali, Java, Sumatra, Straits Settlements, Malay States, Siam, Cambodia, Annam, Cochin-China, with Illustrations and Map de POWELL, E. Alexander - 1921

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1921. First Edition. Three-quarter leather bound. Very good +. [SIGNED] [TRAVEL & ADVENTURE] [STIGMATIZING LANGUAGE]. SIGNED. First edition. 8vo; xviii [ii], 279pp; three-quarters orange calf over marbled boards, 6 compartments on spine with gilt-stamped ornaments and lettering, age-toned endpapers; gilt top edge, deckle fore-edge; gift inscription on the first fly leaf; fp with tissue guard features a b&w photographic illustration of man with a blow-gun + 15 additional plates and one map titled "Maylasia"; binding tight, corners scuffed, edges rubbed, light age-toning; very good plus. 3 items laid in: Contemporary newspaper clipping titled "Major Powell Directs Royal Wedding Movie: Supervises Filming of Ornate Ceremony in Java, Grandchildren of ‘Spike of Universe' Being Principals"; hotel program "Continental Palace Hotel Programme du Mardi 4 Mai 1920"; and a photograph of a man with a gun and a crying child labeled "police" on verso.

The gift inscription on the first flyleaf is to J.L. Hawkinson [John] a writer and movie producer in the 1920s and signed by the author. This is the author's account of his travels through Asia. Edward Alexander Powell [1879-1957] was an American war correspondent during WWI, a journalist, and later a prolific travel writer. Some of the observations he presents include racist caricatures and a lack of an understanding of the culture in which he was a visitor. Several of his chapter titles are intriguing, including "Magic Isles and Fairy Seas," "Man-Eaters and Head-Hunters," and "Prospect Rulers and Comic Opera Courts.".