BIGANDET, Right Rev. Paul Ambrose. The Life or Legend of Gaudama, the Budha of the Burmese, with Annotations. Notice on the Phongies, or Budhist Religious, and the Ways to Niban. Rangoon: Pegu Press, Thos. Stowe Ranney. 1858.
8vo. Modern half-calf over marbled boards, spine with gilt-stamped lettering-piece; pp. vii, iii, 324; title-page with upper inner corner restored, half-title with restored corners, toning throughout, a few pencil marginalia and underlinings; a good copy of a great rarity.
Very uncommon first edition. Paul Bigandet (1813-1894) was a French Catholic missionary who served as Bishop of Lower Burma from 1856 to 1894, after having having served at the mission of the Straits Settlements at Penang for 14 years. He was an expert of Pali, the language of Theravada Buddhism.
This book, entirely based on Burmese manuscripts, was considered the standard reference work on the religion of the Burmese for the rest of the 19th century.
Provenance: Contemporary owner’s name across the title page, of ‘H.[?]. Rogers R.E'. On the blank facing is a note that the book’s author, “Bishop Bigandet, Bp. Of Rangoon married Capt. Rogers R.E. & Miss Woods (at Tongu 2nd Feb 1857)” and below a further note in a different hand “The above is not correct. The Tonghoo marriage was by a Protestant chaplain. Bishop Bigandet married them afterwards according to Catholic Rites, presumably at Rangoon”. Both notes are initialed S.R. A fine contemporary Burmese pictorial stamp to front fly-leaf.
WorldCat lists only one copy of this first edition, in the British Library.
SKU: 2122378