When Men and Mountains Meet: The Explorers of the Western Himalayas

When Men and Mountains Meet: The Explorers of the Western Himalayas 1820-75, John Keay — First Edition Publication: London, John Murray, 1977 Formatting: 8vo, pp. [x], 277. Condition Report: Very Good.The red textured cloth binding remains remarkably bright and tight, with sharp corners and unfaded gilt lettering to the spine, indicating it has been well-protected over the decades. The text block is firm and largely free of foxing, though the top edge exhibits minor dust-dulling consistent with age. Internally, the pages are crisp and bright. A previous owner's thistle-design bookplate is affixed to the front pastedown, with the name heavily redacted in black marker; otherwise, the interior is free from significant blemishes. The original dust jacket retains its vibrant wraparound watercolour artwork and presents well, exhibiting only light rubbing and minor wear to the extremities, now housed in a protective clear sleeve. Catalogue Note: This is a true first edition, first printing of John Keay’s authoritative narrative history on the early 19th-century exploration of the Western Himalayas. Profusely illustrated, the volume includes numerous black-and-white photographic plates, intricate maps, and line engravings that vividly chart the topographical and cultural discoveries of the era. Finding copies with the distinctive wraparound dust jacket intact and the original boards in such bright, well-preserved condition is increasingly uncommon for a title of this vintage. In When Men and Mountains Meet, acclaimed historian John Keay chronicles the gripping and largely forgotten story of the first European explorers to penetrate the formidable Western Himalayas between 1820 and 1875. Keay masterfully brings to life a wildly eccentric cast of characters, from freelance adventurers and maverick naturalists to dogged surveyors, who mapped a treacherous and magnificent terrain long before the golden age of mountaineering. Combining rigorous archival research with thrilling narrative drive, this account charts a monumental era of discovery that rivalled the search for the source of the Nile.…