An Illustrated Guide to the Federated Malay States – Cuthbert Woodville Harrison (1910) (1st ed)

S$280.00

An Illustrated Guide to the Federated Malay States – Cuthbert Woodville Harrison (1910) (1st ed)

S$280.00

Title: An Illustrated Guide to the Federated Malay States

Author: Cuthbert Woodville Harrison, H. C. Barnard (illus)

Publisher: The Malay States Development Agency, 1910. Copyright date at the back of the book. First edition, first impression.

Condition: Hardcover, restored copy, with binder’s black tape along the spine. Leather binding (possibly rebound at a later date), retaining the keris and tiger motifs present on the covers of all editions. Rounded corners, gilt to all edges. Index missing. Foldout map missing, and hence the insert at the rear cover is empty. Inscription and blindstamp to ffep. Slight pencil marking to title page. Text clean, binding tight. All 7 colour plates and all black-and-white plates present, with a small closed tear to plate facing page 163. With railway schedule and table of distances from one city to another. 333 pages. A small book.

 

This is one of the most detailed, specific, and interesting guidebooks ever written on the the Federated Malay States. The author takes you on a tour beginning at Penang, down through the West of Peninsula Malaysia and along the North-South train route, which is still the same route taken by the KTM today. He stops at various train stops along the way, such as at Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur, and explains various places of interest either within the cities or within driving distance. During the trip he gives an account of these places of interest, along with the culture, scenery, industry and other noteworthy observations, and finally ends his journey in Malacca. It is still possible to follow his route today, and to compare how each locale has changed over the course of a century.

This travel guide also explains, in great detail, timetables and routes, as well as how much a traveller in the 1920s can expect to pay for. There is a brief history of the Malaya at the beginning, which mentions Singapore, as well as chapters on topics such as hunting and shooting in the jungles, driving advice, and an introduction to “strange” things like durians and sarongs.