The Overland Desert Mail - the Direct Road to the East: Haifa - Beirut - Damascus - Baghdad by the Nairn Transport Co., Pioneers of the Cross-Desert Motor Service Beirtu, Syria.

Descripción

Original staple-bound wraps with colour illustration by H.R. Crook, 13 x 21cm. Printed by Ferrestone Press, West Norwood. 16pp with several b/w photos and full-page map. Undated c1925. Very good with spotting to the wraps. Extremely rare. The Nairn brothers, two New Zealanders who had served under Allenby, had started a taxi and mail service between Beirut and Haifa in 1920. In 1923 the British consul in Damascus asked them to investigate the possibility of transporting colonial staff through the Syrian Desert to Iraq. Local traders were supportive, as camel trains were slower and prone to attack by local tribes. After successful trials, the Nairns additionally won British, French, and Iraqi support to run a postal service between Haifa, Damascus and Baghdad, with the French providing gold to pay off the desert tribes. The route was established with the formation of the Nairn Transport Company in October 1923. This promotional work celebrates its successful first year of operation, with data on mileage, people and mail transported in 1924. The Time Table shows the arrangement for daytime travel, which was later changed to take advantage of cooler night time temperatures. Cars are described as specially built cadillacs driven exclusively by British ex-Services "with long experience of motor transport and of the East". There is also information about food, clothing, passports, luggage, fares, connections with Europe and India, special convoys, motor tours, and points of interest. A list of "distinguished" passengers includes the Shah of Persia, Arnold Wilson, John Cadman, Rosita Forbes (Mrs AT McGrath), British Minister to Persia Sir Percy and Lady Lorraine, the League of Nations Iraq Frontier Commission, among others. Nairn's agents in London, New York, Paris, Marseilles, Bombay and Baghdad are listed. The map shows the route and connecting railways. The cover illustration of a Nairn convoy also featured on contemporary posters. The photos show the cars used, a convoy, passengers crossing the Euphrates and Fellujah, tea and cigarettes in the desert, a "friendly chat" with locals, Maude Bridge, and the domes of Kadhimein. N° de ref. del artículo 4310

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