Ceylon: The Land of Eternal Charm

A very scarce copy of the first edition of Ali Foad Toulba"s richly illustrated account of his travels in colonial Ceylon. In the publisher's original blue cloth binding.First edition.Illustrated with eighty-seven illustrations across forty-two double-sided monochrome plates, a monochrome frontispiece, and four colour plates. Collated, complete.A travel and descriptive Ali Foad Toulba, English redactor to the cabinet of the King of Egypt, recounts his two visits to Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, in 1921 and 1924.With a foreword by L. E. Blaze (1861-1951), an educator and writer associated with colonial Ceylon.Toulba offers impressions of the island"s natural beauty, Buddhist temples, and historic cities, with chapters including "Arrival at Colombo," "Mount Lavinia," "Sports and Amusements in Ceylon," "Some Ceylon Fruits," "Peradeniya Gardens," "The Cremation of a High Priest," and "Up the Mountains to Nuwara Eliya," among others.A richly illustrated and evocative portrait of colonial Ceylon. In the publisher's original cloth binding.Externally, smart. Fading to spine and extremities. Slight rubbing and bumping to extremities. Previous owner's small ink inscription to front paste down. Offsetting to endpapers with the odd spot. Internally, firmly bound. Hinge strained at the half-title with binding materials slightly exposed, slightly loose but holding. Pages bright and clean if slightly age toned with the odd light spot, heavier to first and last few leaves and fore edge. The odd small pencil annotation from previous owner. Very Good. …