Haafner,Jacob. — J. Haafner's reize te voet door Ceylon.

Te Haarlem, Bij A.C. Kruseman, 1852. 356 pp. Engr. title page. Blindstamped red cloth with gilt dec. / lettering on spine, a.e.g. 24mo. [ca. 117 x 73 mm.]. - Spine renewed (old spine neatly reattached). Travelogue of a journey on foot through Ceylon from Jaffnapatnam to Colombo by Jacob Haafner (1755-1809), bookkeeper in the factory of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Nagapatnam. - - This is a small, pocket-sized edition of the book originally published (posthumously) in 1810 under the title *Reize te voet door het eiland Ceilon* (Journey on Foot through the Island of Ceylon). The work describes the arduous and adventurous journey on foot that Haafner undertook across the island of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) in the late 18th century (around 1783), traveling from Jaffnapatnam in the north to Colombo. Haafner was far ahead of his time, voicing fierce and rare criticism of Western colonialism and the misconduct of Europeans-including the Dutch and the British-in Asia. He held the indigenous population in high regard, was proficient in local languages ??(such as Tamil), and provided detailed accounts of local traditions, religions, and society.