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THE CHINA ROUTE

MASON, Major Kenneth. Records of the survey of india Vol. XXII. Exploration of the shaksgam valley and aghil ranges 1926.

Dehra Dun. Published by order of Brigadier E. A. Tandy, R. E. Surveyor General of India. Printed at the Geodetic Branch Office, Survey of India, 1928. First edition.
8vo. xi, [1], 182pp. With a photogravure frontispiece, one further photogravure plate, 16 illustrations from photographs by the author on 13 plates, a line map, and a large heliozincographed map housed in rear pocket. Original publisher's grey cloth, lettered in black. A trifle rubbed and marked. Near contemporary inked ownership inscription of C. J. Price to recto of FFEP, occasional light spotting.
The sole edition of a comprehensive account of geographer and mountaineer Kenneth Mason's (1887-1976) expedition to survey the remote Shaksgam valley and the Aghil ranges in the Karakoram.

The territory, uninhabited and uncharted, was of great interest to British Imperial authorities due to its proximity, and the prospect of potential access, to China. Mason was only the second westerner to set foot in the region; the first, Francis Younghusband (1863-1942) had documented his efforts in The Heart of a Continent (1896), the book which inspired a young Mason to pursue a career in the survey of India.

For this work, the Royal Geographical Society awarded Mason the Cuthbert Peek grant in 1926, and the founder's gold medal in 1927. In 1928 he was appointed assistant surveyor-general of India, and, in 1929, deputy director of surveys.

For this work, the Royal Geographical Society awarded Mason the Cuthbert Peek grant in 1926, and the founder's gold medal in 1927. In 1928 he was appointed assistant surveyor-general of India, and, in 1929, deputy director of surveys.
£ 1,250.00 Antiquates Ref: 25060