Oliphant (Laurence) The Trans-Caucasian Campaign

of the Turkish Army under Omar Pasha
Edinburgh & London, Blackwood, 1856.

First edition. Presentation copy from the author. 8vo. [ii, adverts], xxvii, 234, [16, adverts]. Original green blind-stamped cloth lettered in gilt to spine with gilt illustration to upper cover.

Inscribed ‘with the author’s compts.’ to front free endpaper. British diplomat, intelligence officer and occasional mystic, Laurence Oliphant played a significant role during the Crimean War; in August 1852 he had helped clandestinely map the fortifications at Sebastopol, and after an appointment in North America he put forward a plan to help mitigate the Russian threat to Persia, Mesopotamia and Afghanistan by relieving the pressure in North East Turkey via a strategic alliance with a local guerilla group. During a related reconnaissance mission he met up with the Turkish commander Omar Pasha, with whom he got on well, joining his force and being present at the battle of the Ingour. His plan was rendered impractical however, following the fall of Kars, and Oliphant returned to England.