2 vol., 8vo, half-titles, 10 tinted lithographic plates depicting views and ethnographic subjects, 4 hand-coloured lithographic botanical plates, 3 folding maps, light rubbing to extremities, some spotting to a few leaves. Contemporary green half calf gilt. Good copy
First edition. St John travelled east in the 1840s as private secretary to Sir James Brooke, 1st Rajah of Sarawak, accompanying him during his final operations against the Malay pirates in 1849, and on subsequent missions to Brunei, the Sulu archipelago, and Siam. 'Appointed in 1856 British consul-general at Brunei, he explored the country round the capital, and went further into the interior than any previous traveller ... He published his full and accurate journals, supplemented by other visitors' testimonies, in two well-written and beautifully illustrated volumes entitled Life in the Forests of the Far East ... He used this book to exact revenge on the missionaries who had complained of his behaviour' (ODNB)
