Voyage to India and Journey through the Middle East

Ives, Edward: 'A Voyage from England to India, in the Year Mdccliv, and an Historical Narrative or the Operations of the Squadron and Army in India, under the Command of Vice-Admiral Watson and Colonel Clive [.]. Also, a Journey from Persia to England, by an Unusual Route [.].' [London; Edward and Charles Dilly, 1773]. Large 4to. XII, 506 pp. With 2 folding maps and 13 plates. Original marbled boards with later quarter calf; spine with gilt embossed title on red leather panel. New end papers. Title page detached. With ownership inscription 'Jeremiah Ives, St. Clements, Norwich, 1783' The British surgeon Edward Ives travelled to East India on an Watson's ship in 1754. After working at a local hospital for a while, he returned to England in 1758. His return route through the Middle East was the same as that chosen a few years later, by Carsten Niebuhr: from Basra via Hille, Baghdad, Mosul, Diarbekr, Biredjik, and Haleb to Latakia. He met with Mubarak bin Sabah, the Sheikh of 'Grane' (Kuwait): 'In connection with Kuwait, Ives's text is especially important for the insight it gives into the economy of caravan traffic and Kuwait's place in it.' His account of the manners and customs of the countries he visited are those of an enlightened and acute observer. The appendix contains an 'Account of the Diseases prevalent in Adml. Watson's squadron, a description of most of the Trees, Shrubs, and Plants of India, with their medicinal virtues.'