Sven Hedin, The Wandering Lake. First English Edition. Collection of Administrator of C.P.

Sven Hedin, The Wandering Lake. ... With 32 Illustrations, 76 Sketches, and 10 Maps. London: Routledge, 1940.

The book was first published in Swedish in 1937. This is the first English edition.

Demy octavo, hard cover, no dustwrapper, original blue cloth, xi + 293, text illustrations in line, maps, including fold-out (see image).

Cloth unevenly discoloured and rubbed, eroded at the head of the spine, small mark on front free endpaper and edges of text block. The pages themselves are remarkably clean, with only a couple of small fox marks. Overall, in good condition.

The wandering lake of the title is the Lop Nur or Lop Nor, a salt lake visited by Hedin in the 1920s but now entirely dry. It lies in northwestern China, between the Taklamakan and Kumtag deserts.

The book emerged from the joint Sino-Swedish scientific expedition, which the author led to north and northwest China in the years 19271935.

FROM THE COLLECTION OF F. A. JOUBERT, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE CAPE PROVINCE, WITH HIS SIGNATURE, DATED 10 FEBRUARY 1940.

Keyword: Exploration.