Palgrave,William Gifford. — Reise in Arabien. Erster Band.

Leipzig, Dyk'sche Buchhandlung, 1867. 1 vol. (of 2). 354 pp. Engr. frontispiece (portrait of the author), 3 b./w. plans (incl. fold. plan of Riad / Riyad) & a large fold. lithogr. map of Arabia with some outline colouring). Bound in early 20th century hardcover binding (brown cloth with black lettering on spine). 8vo. - Bookplate of the Univ. of Cape Town Libraries on upper pastdow; small collection stamp (cancelled) on title page.First volume of the 2-volume set. The second volume was not published until 1868. - The original English edition of Palgrave's work, "Observations in Central, Eastern, and Southern Arabia, during a Journey through that Country in 1862 and 1863," was published in London in 1864. - - A relatively rare account of a journey through Arabia via Riyadh to the Persian Gulf by William Gifford Palgrave (24 January 1826 - 30 September 1888). He was an English priest, soldier, diplomat, traveller, and Arabist. Although he converted to Catholicism in the late 1840s, joined the Jesuit Order, and was ordained a priest, this journey to Arabia was not a missionary journey. He intended to use his observations to serve the French Emperor Napoleon III and his imperial ambitions. A motive also hidden behind other research expeditions of the period. Palgrave, then a Catholic priest, traveled disguised as a Muslim and a doctor. This account was highly regarded at the time of its publication, but later research revealed it contained numerous inaccuracies. He simply fabricated parts of the journey. Cf. Henze III, 693.