First edition. 2 vols. 2 frontispieces and 5 lithograph plates. 8vo. A very good copy in contemporary half calf over marbled boards, red morocco labels and gilt to spines, extremities slightly rubbed, text clean & bright. xi, [1], [2], 312; [viii], 351, [1]pp. London, Henry Colburn, 1840.
An invaluable account of Circassian culture by a Times journalist who lived amongst them. Scotsman John Longworth was closely associated with James Stanislaus Bell, and their ostensibly mercantile and journalistic forays into Circassia brought them both under accusations of espionage. This was not entirely untrue, as they were largely present at the behest of David Urquhart, who was attempting to force Britain's hand in defending the Circassian people and secure their independence by engineering a diplomatic incident between the British and Russian naval forces in the Black Sea.
This is considered to be one of the few accurate eye witness accounts of Circassian culture by a British traveller in the nineteenth century. It captures a vitally significant portrait of this indigenous highland population of the Caucasus, at a time when it was closely connected to the Ottoman Empire. Within a quarter century this vibrant population would be largely forced from their homeland during the 1864 mass deportation and ethnic cleansing, a result of the Russian imperialist expansion at the end of the Russo-Turkish war.
This scarce title is rarely found complete with all seven beautiful lithographed plates.
