With a royal invitation resulting from an article in the National Geographic Magazine describing their adventures with birds of prey and their fascination with the ancient sport of falconry, these two young Americans ventured to India in 1940. As guests of the ardent naturalist and falconer, Kumar Shree Dharmakumarsinhji, youngest brother of His Highness, the Maharaja of Bhavnagar in the Kathiawar States, the Craighead brothers observed and enjoyed the final days of the centuries-old sporting traditions of India's Rajput princes.
Yet their adventures went far beyond days spent trapping and training falcons on the shores of the Arabian Sea and coursing cheetahs at blackbuck on the Gujurat plains! They also traveled by royal train to attend (as the only Western guests) the colorful and exotic ceremonies of the royal marriage of their host's brother to the sister of the Maharaja of Tripura whose princely state lay on the opposite side of the subcontinent. They participated in a royal lion hunt, traveled to the Himalayas and spent sleepless nights in ambush of man-eating tigers.
Through all of these once-in-a-lifetime adventures they meticulously recorded - with pen and cameras - all that they witnessed. A brief account of their extended adventure appeared in a 1942 edition of the National Geographic and has enthralled falconers for decades.
However the present AAF Heritage Series offering is the Complete narrative diary recorded at the time, day-by-day, including extracts from their technical naturalists' journal. This, coupled with several hundred color photographs, makes this unique volume rank as a true classic, both in the literature of sport and in the history of the subcontinent.
This exquisite Volume is approximately 350 pages with over 350 illustrations, more than two-thirds in full color. Hardcover, case-bound in the finest quality book cloth, half rich brown on hunter green with embossed gold foil stamping, matching Volume 1 in the AAF Heritage Publications Series; archival paper, individually nimbered and including a list of advance Subscribers and Patrons bound in.
The Limited Edition is the same as the Standard Edition but is bound with the finest natural half leather case binding, English handmade marbled endpapers and custom matching slipcase.
**Plus***
Includes an original 5x7 color photographic print of the authors taken while they were in India and made directly from their original 35mm transparency.
Both editions are handsomely printed and bound to the same exacting standars of the AAF's earlier volume, from selection of the archival paper to employing the most regarded practitioners of the bookmaking art! Painstaking attention to detail ensures a volume of great beauty and archival quality certain to appreciate over time. An investment you will tuly be grad you made! |
