1917 — On the Eaves of the World. - First Edition. Edward Arnold, London, 1917. The Rare First Edition, first printing. 8vo, two volumes: xii, viii, 311, 314 pages and additional 13 page index. Illustrated with 62 photographic plates distributed between the volumes, and one folding map. Publisher's original blue cloth, gilt title to fronts and spines. Photographic frontispiece in each volumes with tissue guards. Lacking half titles, otherwise in very good and original condition, a splendid work. Excerpt from the author's Preface, volume I: "The expedition of which these two volumes tell the first half of the tale was definitely planned (though long dreamed of) in 1913, and got going on February 7, 1914. Its object was to explore thoroughly, in the interests of horticulture and forestry, the whole of the Kansu-Tibet Border, from South to North. I will but say succinctly here that these two volumes deal only with my wanderings of 1914, round the extreme South-West March of Kansu, and up the Border, coming to rest for the winter at Lanchow in mid-November. The tale of the second year, 1915, yet remains to be written " Reginald Farrer (1880-1920) was a wealthy plant collector who travelled extensively, and a writer of a number of books, best known for 'My Rock Garden'. In 1902 Farrer embarked on the first of his expeditions to Eastern Asia, visiting China, Korea and, particularly Japan. In 1914 he travelled to Asia in search of a variety of plants, many of which he brought back to England and planted near his home village of Clapham, North Yorkshire, many of which are a permanent feature of English gardens. Farrer's narrative recounts an ambitious expedition to Tibet and the Province of Kansu province of North-west China along, travelling along the entire border with the aim of discovering and catalogue alpine flora. He was accompanied by another well known English plant collector, Kew-trained William Purdom, whom during this expedition remained in China when he was appointed to the Chinese Government Forestry Commission. Farrer drew many illustrations, often painted in the most uncomfortable of circumstances. Many of these, and his landscape water-colours of Kansu and Tibet, were exhibited by the Fine Art Society in 1918. He made a final voyage to the mountains of Upper Burma with E.H.M Cox, who recorded the trip in 'Farrer's Last Journey, Upper Burma 1919-20' (1926). Farrer died in 1920 at Nyitadi in the remote Minshan mountains on the Burmese/Chinese frontier at the early age of 40. The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh holds a collection of Reginald Farrer papers, correspondence and photographs.
