Progress and Present Position of Russia in the East: Second Edition. Anon (John McNeill). London: John Murray.1838. Second Edition. Fold-out map of Russia + 151 p + 4 p of publisher’s adverts. Original cloth binding measuring 9 x 5.75”, 8vo. 

In fair condition. Dark green cloth boards normally scuffed at edges and worn/bumped at corners. Head and tail of spine collapsed; front hinge moderately chipped with exposed binding. Off-setting found on front board; paper title labe toned and soiled, but legible. Previous ownership signature found on front end-page: “Dudley P. Bailey Jr., Everett, Mass. Aug 5 1896.” Same signature found on top edge of title page. Title page torn at head of gutter, fragile. Front gutter torn at copyright/preface, binding exposed. Normal toning throughout text-block, some instances of light age-staining. Fold-out map is toned at creases with light scuffing at edges and corners. Off-sitting on adjacent leaf to fold-out. Binding is intact, but front hinge is very fragile. Please see photos and ask questions, if any, before purchasing. 

  Sir John McNeill (1795 –  1883) was a Scottish surgeon and diplomat. On 6 September 1816 he was appointed assistant surgeon on the Honourable East India Company's Bombay establishment. He was moved to Persia in 1819. He received his license as a surgeon on 1 May 1824 and retired from the medical service on 4 June 1836, thereafter concentrating on the diplomatic aspects of the East India Company.
  From 1824 to 1835, he was attached to the East India Company's legation in Persia, at first in medical charge, and latterly as political assistant to the Minister, John Macdonald Kinneir, in which post he displayed great ability. For instance, in 1829 he was probably one of the instigators of the murder of Alexander Griboyedov by Persian mob in Teheran.
   On 30 June 1835, he was appointed secretary of the special embassy sent to Tehran under Henry Ellis to congratulate Mohammad Shah Qajar on his accession to the Persian throne. McNeill received permission to wear the Persian Order of the Lion and the Sun of the first class, and on his return home in the spring of 1836, he anonymously published a startling anti-Russian pamphlet, Progress and Present Position of Russia in the East.

This is the second edition of his report and the first that includes a map of “Sketch Acquisitions of Russia since the Accession of Peter 1st to the Throne.”

RAREB1838HORA - 08/19
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