Only colour plate book on the Gulf. The only colour plate book on the Arabian Gulf and one of the rarest of all colour plate books.

The rarity of the book is probably explained by the fact that the Napoleonic Wars was in progress. Muscat had been declared neutral, and in any case was a long way away from the war in Europe. The colour-plate books devoted to the Napoleonic Wars are legion and show clearly where the interests of the British public lay. In addition, Haines was not a major publisher of this type of book, indeed the only other book published by him listed in Abbey Travel is the same author's equally scarce book on Mauritius. The number of copies printed must have been very small, possibly only a hundred or so copies.

For many years, the dominant naval force in the Persian Gulf were the Qawasim. The Qawasim had frequently attacked British ships, culminating with the taking of the Sylph. Prior to this engagement, the British had been reluctant to get too involved in the complex politics of the Gulf, stretched as they were by their war with Napoleon. The loss of the Sylph, however, combined with a fear of the Wahhabis gaining control of Muscat at the expense of Saiyid Sa'id, prompted the British to send a naval force, consisting of 2 frigates, 8 cruisers, and a bomb ketch, to the Gulf to destroy Qawasim vessels. The intervention culminated in the battle for Shinas, in which the British, together with their Omani allies, prevailed. Overall, however, the intervention was not terribly successful; many Qawasim vessels were destroyed, but little was done to prevent future Wahabbi advances in the region: 'His [Minto's, the Governor-General of India] one venture into Arabian politics had afforded him a glimpse of the illimitable consequences of taking sides in an intra-Muslim, inter-Arab contest, and the experience brought on an excess of prudence (Kelly).

First edition; landscape folio (c. 340 x 510 mm), engraved title page & 16 fine hand-coloured aquatint plates, complete as issued, expert professional restoration to title & plates, in original boards with printed label to upper cover, skilfully rebacked, housed in modern navy morocco-backed drop box, morocco label to upper cover lettered in gilt, a handsome copy.