Jim Thompson: The House on the Klong

Bangkok: Archipelago Press, 2001. Hardcover. Fine/Very Good; two 1/2-inch closed tears at corners. Scarce in fine condition. Jim Thompson lived a fascinating life. Born in Delaware, the son of a textile manufacturer, he became a 1928 Olympian in the sport of sailing. During World War II he served as a spy in the United States Office of Strategic Services, which brought him to Thailand. After moving to Thailand, he founded the Thai Silk Company Limited, helping to revitalize the Thai silk industry. Later, in 1967, Thompson mysteriously disappeared in the Cameron Highlands in Malaysia, was never found, and was presumed dead in 1974. While in Thailand, Thompson was not only a businessman but a collector of Southeast Asian art. Beginning in 1958, Thompson designed and built "The House on the Klong" a traditional Thai-style house sitting on a canal, to house his extraordinary art collection. The house, still open as a museum today, is an impressive collection of art and architecture. This gorgeous book, filled with color photographs including many full plates, tells the story of the house - detailing its origins and Thompson's process in creating it, then describing in illustrated detail the architecture of the house and the art collection itself. With page after page of beautiful photos of Southeast Asian art and of the impressive house, this book tells an intriguing story about the passion project of an extraordinary man. Gilt lettering on front cover and spine.