Zur Errinerung an die Reise des Prinzen Waldemar von Preussen nach Indien in den Jahren 1844-1846 …

Deckerschen Geheimen Ober-Hofbuchdruckerei

Waldermar, Frederick William; Eduard Oriolla; Count von der Gröben; Dr Werner Hoffmeister

First edition. The EJF collection also includes a later, single volume edition of this work, in octavo, printed in Berlin in 1857 (see entry number 2472). Contents: Vol. I: Erster Abschnitt: Die Reise von Berlin bis Kalkutta - Zweiter Abschnitt: Die Reise durch Hindostan; Vol. II: Dritter Abschnitt: Die Reise im Himalaya - Vierter Abschnitt: Der Feldzug gegen die Sickhs.

Prince Waldemar of Prussia was the nephew of King Friedrich Wilhelm III.

Second (lithographed) title page in both volumes. Waldemar's portrait on first volume frontispiece. All the plates are printed on "India" paper and pasted. "Reise des Prinzen Waldemar von Preussen nach Indien" Band 1. Band 2., printed on the front covers of the respective two volumes. Crest, names "Moodkee Ferozeshah Sabraon" (which indicate battlefields where the Prince fought) and Waldemar's initials, WWF, are printed on the back cover.

Prince Waldemar travelled to the Levant, Egypt, India and Tibet from 7 September 1844 to 13 June 1846. He was accompanied by Count Eduard Oriolla (1809-1862), Count von der Gröben (1817-1894) and Dr Werner Hoffmeister, a doctor and Waldemar's close friend, who died during the voyage while fighting the Sheikhs. Prince Waldemar kept a diary throughout the duration of the voyage and also wrote various essays, notes and letters. Upon his return to Prussia he decided that they should be turned into a narrative. After the Prince's death in 1849 this work was supervised by his father, Prince Wilhelm (1783-1851). Following the latter's demise, Waldemar's brother, Prince Adalbert of Prussia (1811-1873), and sisters, Princess Elizabeth of Hessen (1815-1885) and Queen Marie of Bavaria (1825-1889) continued and completed the supervision of the work. According to the book's Preface, written by the celebrated scientist Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), Heinrich Mahlmann was employed by the Prince's family to compose the first part of the narrative of the journey. Mahlmann based himself on Waldemar's own diary, essays, notes and letters and on the relevant sections of Hoffmeister's literary estate. The work is neatly divided in two chapters per volume. The section of the journey through Greece is described in the first part of the first volume. The travellers sailed from Trieste and arrived in Corfu in September 1844. There they met Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, who was acting as commander of the British forces in Corfu. They then travelled via Patras to Corinth, where they met Ludwig Ross (1806-1859) and finally reached Athens. Accompanied by Ross they met the King and Queen. The travellers stayed in Athens for 8 days, leaving on September 30th, bound for Alexandria. They stopped at Syra for a day on October 1st, and then continued on their journey. Prince Waldemar made sketches during the voyage, and two artists, Ferdinand Beltermann (1814-1889) and Hermann Kretzschmer (1811-1870) lithographed them under the supervision of Prince Waldemar himself.

Ινδία--1844-1846, Κέρκυρα--1844, Αθήνα--1844, Πάτρα--1844, Σύρος--1844, Αλεξάνδρεια--1844