Opening Hours
Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Rare Books
The Minaret of Djam : an excursion in Afghanistan
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Daily: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Closed on Tuesdays
1151 Oxford Road
San Marino, CA 91108
Image not available
Rare Books
Journalist, traveler, and writer Freya Stark wrote this book "as an armchair journey for the average reader" after discovering that contemporary knowledge of the Arab world in Europe and the United States was out of date. She gives an introductory history and political analysis of the region in the introduction, especially with respect to World War II, foreign presence in the region, and the region's future place in the world. This book, based on the author's travels, focuses particularly upon the Arabian Peninsula (specifically Aden in Yemen, where she was stationed by the British government as a diplomat), Egypt, Palestine, Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. Stark does not attempt to keep the narrative falsely impersonal; her status as a foreign woman traveling by herself was wildly uncommon, and the way her informants responded to her reflects that fact.
626169
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Rare Books
Stark published this collection of her photographs in 1939. She intended the book for the popular reader to admire the sights and people of the historical region Hadhramaut, now in modern Yemen. The book contains black-and-white photographs of good quality, generally full page, with Stark's commentary on the opposite page.
626176
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Rare Books
"Inspired by the tales of adventure in Arabian Nights, worldwide explorer Freya Stark set off for the Northwest coast of Syria in 1927. She was a woman alone in a country where few men dared to venture, in a culture governed by seldom-kept laws. By camel, horse, foot, and caravan, she crossed Iraq's desert, impassable mountain ranges, and the colorful cities of Baghdad, Larti, and Teheran to her final destination: the Throne of Solomon. Accompanied by the opium-entranced Keram Khan, one-eyed Alidad, quiltmaker Shah Riza, and the sullen Hajji, she sought out ancient castles, a buried treasure, and prehistoric graves in the Valleys of the Assassins, the hidden home of a Persian sect of murderers. Along the way, she befriended the philosophers, shahs, robbers, child-brides, and holy men who populate the countryside. Originally published in 1936, The Valley of the Assassins is a remarkable travel odyssey. This is its first American publication"--back cover.
635933
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Manuscripts
Diary kept during a journey by covered wagon from Salt Lake City, UT, to Los Angeles, CA, by Carrie B. Call, who traveled with her husband Jimmie, her niece Katie and her infant son Leslie. The Calls left Salt Lake City on October 24, 1886 and reached Los Angeles December 5, 1886. While on their journey they passed through several cities and sites including Provo and Santa Clara, Utah; the Las Vegas Mormon Fort and Rancho, Nevada; and Ivanpah and Pomona, California. The diary gives a day-by-day story of their trip. She details the people, scenery and hardships her family encountered on their trek, such as, the family sharing a campsite with a man chasing a horse thief and getting lost in the desert and having their horses run off. Being from Salt Lake City, she makes several comments regarding the Mormon families she met along the travel route. One of the first things the Call family did in California was visit the beach at Santa Monica. Call made several comments regarding California's perfect climate. The diary is illustrated by hand-drawn and hand-colored sketches done by the author
mssHM 60317
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Rare Books
Recounts a cross-country journey, primarily by rail, from Newburgh, New York to California undertaken from February to April 1908. The author pays particular attention to her time in Arizona and California. Photographs include mines, miners, agriculture, lumber yards and scenic highlights. In Oakland, California, she recounts encountering people displaced by the San Francisco Earthquake and Fire, 1906. M. Elizabeth Cole and her traveling companions arrived home April 22, 1908.
653975
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Rare Books
This book brings together a variety of experiences and adventures from the travels of the best-selling author to such places as Corsica, Burma, Cape Cod, East Africa, Afghanistan, a leper colony, and the New York subways.
489473