Bibliotheca Asiatica

Bibliotheca Asiatica is a series of reprints and some translations of books, both historic and recent past, containing first-hand descriptions and narratives by travellers in Asia, as well as research monographs and studies related to a wide range of aspects of Asian culture. Classified by country; this series includes a consolidation of the contents of the former series Bibliotheca Orientalis and Itineraria Asiatica.

Thailand	Himalaya & Tibet	Malaysia	Korea
Burma	China	India	Cambodia

Himalaya & Tibet

A Plant Hunter in Tibet
by Frank Kingdon-Ward
Second imprint 2006 (first edition London, 1934). 317 pp., 19 b & w plates, 2 maps, notes, index, 21.5 x 15cm., softcover.
ISBN-10: 974-524-087-7 $26.00
ISBN-13: 978-974-524-087-2

This account of plant-hunter and explorer Frank Kingdon-Ward’s 1933 expedition to the southeastern corner of Tibet was as significant for his geographic revelations as it was for the wealth of plant species with which he returned. On this journey Kingdon-Ward reached as far as the Salween River, a particularly remote area of Tibet not previously known or mapped in the West.
His lively descriptions of the grand mountain ranges he traversed, the hardships overcome and the plants, fauna and people he encountered are complemented by spectacular photographs. The recollection of such adventures as his sojourn in a remote Buddhist gompa, the frontier justice meted out to a suspected murderer and many other tales enroute make this a gripping and informative read for the Tibetologist, botanist and armchair explorer alike.

Sanctuaires Bouddhiques Du Ladakh
by Geneviève Tchekhoff et Yvan Comolli
Avec une preface de Maurice Herzog.
1984. vii, 134 pp., 63 planches en couleur, 39 dessins, un carte 21 x 19 cm., couverture imprimée.
ISBN-10: 974-8299-80-5 $23.00
ISBN-13: 978-974-8299-80-8

Des monuments centenaires dans cette région aride, admirablement belle et montagneuse témoignent d’un passé riche et turbulent. Ce livre décrit la majeure partie des sanctuaires bouddhistes à l’aide de photos, de dessins très détaillés, et de brèves descriptions.
C’est un guide indispensable pour les visiteurs, une base essentielle sur les monastères et les sanctuaires bouddhiques du Ladakh.

Voyage au Népal
par Gustave le Bon
Avec une introduction par T.N. Upraity et G. Lebrec
1886 et 1893, 1981. x, 82 pp., 2 pl. en coleur, 63 gravures. 26 x 19 cm., couverture imprimée.
ISBN-10: 974-8304-11-6 $18.00
ISBN-13: 978-974-8304-11-3

Voyage to Nepal
by Gustave le Bon
Translated by Niloufar Moaven and Cecilia Leslie.
1886 and 1893, 1991, xii, 100 pp., 22 col. pl., 63 b/w plates. 26 x 19 cm., softbound
ISBN-10: 974-8304-12-4 $18.00
ISBN-13: 978-974-8304-12-0
Out of pirnt; reprint under consideration.

The first contacts between Nepal and France date back to the 17th century. Around 1650, two Jesuits, Fathers Grueber and d’Orville, were accorded a good reception in “Cadmendu” on their way from Peking to India. Later, some Capuchin monks established themselves at Kathmandu and Bhatgaon until expelled by King Prithvi Narayan Shah in 1769, after which Nepal was closed to foreigners until well into this century. The scholar Gustave le Bon (1841-1931) was fortunate to make a scientific mission to the Kathmandu valley in 1886, and his excellent drawings were published in Le Tour du Monde in 1886, and later very good photographs were included in his large work, Les Monuments de l’Inde, published in 1893.