VAN DER MEULEN, Daan. Aden to the Hadhramaut. A Journey in South Arabia. ~i~London, John Murray, [1957].
8vo. Original boards, spine lettered in gilt, dust-jacket (price-clipped); pp. xv, 254, double-page map and numerous plates after photographs; a very attractive copy.
First edition, third printing, presentation copy, warmly inscribed and signed to John da Silva (at one time head of MI6 in Aden) on frontipiece-verso, of Van der Meulen's monograph on the region, with a foreword by governor of Aden from 1937 to 1940, Bernard Reilly. The book and the photos are based on Van der Meulen's extemsive journeys in the 1930s in the region.
Provenance: John Burke da Silva (1918-2003) was a collector of Middle Eastern art, antiques and books, who had served in the British army from 1940-1946, reaching the rank of major, and was mentioned in despatches. After the war he joined the Foreign Service which took him to many parts of the world, including Bahrain in 1960 and later posts in Hamburg, Aden and Washington. - Books inscribed by Van der Meulen are very uncommon.
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