A lovely copy of the earliest guides to Ceylon, providing a neat digest of the island’s attractions for European visitors and valuable insights into its commercial life.
The guide is structured as a series of walks and drives, taking the reader past some of the key sites such as Colombo’s “newly erected and handsome Custom House”, while the “Fort” (which is no longer a true bastion) is the epicentre of life for Europeans/colonials. The city’s other main edifices are highlighted, including Government House, Colombo Library, Telegraph Office, the General Post Office, the Dutch colonial Wolfendahl Church (1749), the Cathedral of St. Lucia, Law Courts, and the Railway Station.
The brandnew Colombo Museum is “the most elegant structure” and has curious exhibits on Ceylon’s history and crafts. The “Colombo Temporary Hotel” is described as “The only building suitable for Europeans within the Fort of Colombo”. Owned and operated by a Mr. Wheeler, it can accommodate 50 guests. Open carriage rides in the countryside, are highly recommended taking visitors outside Colombo, including the Grand Hotel at Mount Lavania, the Buddhist Temple, as well as the coffee plantations, whereupon several estates are listed (and the names of their proprietors).
This is followed by a list of European Stores in Colombo, noting general purveyors, tailors, pharmacists, a photographer and a bookseller (W.H. Cave). The city had several auction houses which are included. Foreign consuls are listed, plus the schedules and fares of steamship lines, mail coaches and the Ceylon Government. There is also a listing of Colombo’s jewellers and furniture makers, while the intellectually minded are directed to the local chapter of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Of real interest are the many pages of advertisements (which are nearly as long as the text), including W.H.L Skeen, Photographers; C. Matthew, Ship Chandler; M.C. Abdul Raheman’s ‘General Warehouse; Colombo Hotels Company (Temporary Hotel); Dharmadas & Co., Jewellers; British India Steam Navigation Co.; Queen’s Hotel, Kandy; Reuters Telegraph Company; and the Ceylon Times, which notes that it will shortly publish The Tourist’s Guide to Ceylon.
Rare: OCLC locates copies at British Library, UC Berkeley, and the Staatsbibliothek Berlin.
