WILLIAM SIMPSON'S AFGHANISTAN: Travels of a Special Artist and Antiquarian during the Second Afghan War 1878-1879

Explores the diary entries of the Scottish artist William Simpson in Afghanistan during the Campaign of 1878-79. Simpson had a reputation for accuracy and an eye for detail, having covered military campaigns in Abyssinia, France, and California. As an embedded artist with the Peshawar Valley Field Force, Simpson recorded the events leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Gandamak in May 1879 which brought the first phase of the Second Afghan War to a close. He sent back numerous sketches, drawings, and watercolors accompanied by detailed captions. Simpson's diary also contains accounts of his studies of ancient dig sites as well as commentaries on the people and places he observed. This edition of the diary benefits from an extensive introduction and appendices. Contains 16 color illustrations, 76 black and white illustrations, and three black and white maps.