Die botanischen Ergebnisse der Polak'schen Expedition nach Persien im Jahre 1882 : plantae collectae a Dre. J. E. Polak et Th. Pichler by Stapf, Otto

Vienna1885: Karl Gerold's Sohn Two parts, quarto, pp 71; 77, (3), uncut, contents a little age-toned but sound, the original wrappers very worn and detached. RARE. From the library of the botanist and Director of Kew Gardens, W.B. Turrill, with his faint signature on the upper cover. [Polak studied Medicine in Prague and Vienna. He was one of the six Austrian teachers invited by Amir Kabir, the Persian chief minister, as the instructors of Dar ul-Fonun, the first modern higher education institution in Iran. By his own account, he entered Iran on 24 November 1851, before the inauguration of the Dar ul-Fonun. From 1851 to 1860, he taught medicine at Dar ul-Fonun. In the beginning, he taught in French and used a translator. Soon, the incompetence of the translators motivated him to learn Persian. He learned Persian in six months, and then taught his course in Persian. In 1885, he funded Otto Stapf, a Viennese botanist, to undertake a botanical expedition to South- and Western Persia. This led to the discovery of numerous new species of plants.]. First Edition. Paperback. Fair.