Diana Lange's patient investigations have, in this wonderful piece of detective work, solved the mysteries of six extraordinary panoramic maps of routes across Tibet and the Himalayas, clearly hand-drawn in the late 1850s by a local artist, known as the British Library's Wise Collection. Diana Lange now reveals not only the previously unknown identity of the Scottish colonial official who commissioned the maps from a Tibetan Buddhist lama, but also the story of how the Wise Collection came to be in the British Library. The result is both a spectacular illustrated ethnographic atlas and a unique compendium of knowledge concerning the mid-19th century Tibetan world, as well as a remarkable account of an academic journey of discovery. It will entertain and inform anyone with an interest in this fascinating region. This large format book is lavishly illustrated in colour and includes four separate large foldout maps.

An Atlas of the Himalayas by a 19th Century Tibetan Lama, Diana Lange, Brill, Hardcover (12 x 12 inches), 390 pp, $130.00

Diana Lange, Ph.D. (2008), Humboldt University Berlin, is a Research Associate at that university. Her research is located in Area Studies (Asia) with a specialisation in history of knowledge and exploration, material and visual cultures studies and cultural interactions.

CONTENTS: An Atlas of the Himalayas by a 19th Century Tibetan Lama
	Preface		IX
	Acknowledgements		X
	List of Illustrations		XII
	Notes on Transliteration		XXI
1	The Wise Collection: An Overview		1
	1.1	Key Data	1
	1.2	Cataloguing in the British Library	1
	1.3	Overview of the Maps and Drawings (Sorted by the BL Shelfmarks)	5
	1.4	Dating the Material	16
2	The Wise Collection: Reading Maps and Drawings		18
3	The Wise Collection: A Biography		21
4	The Wise Collection Key Players: William Edmund Hay and the Tibetan Lama		26
	4.1	Hay's Way to the Western Himalayas	26
	4.2	Hay in Kullu	27
	4.3	"A Very Fair Draughtsman": The Lama from Lhasa	30
5	Historical Background		38
	5.1	British Exploration of Tibet in the Mid-nineteenth Century	38
	5.2	The Tibetan Perspective	39
	5.3	Knowledge Production in the Nineteenth Century	40
6	Peoples and Costumes of the Himalayas		43
7	Putting Lhasa on the Map		60
	7.1	Potala and Surroundings	60
	7.2	Jokhang Temple and Surroundings	66
8	Places and Events in Lhasa		73
	8.1	Nechung State Oracle	73
	8.2	Ache Lhamo Performance at Tsemonling Monaster	80
	8.3	Rope Sliding at the Potala Shol Area	83
	8.4	Kalachakra Ceremony in the Potala Deyangshar	87
	8.5	A Governmental Ritual in the Chinese Guandi Temple (Gesar Lhakhang)	91
	8.6	Disposing of the Dead at Lhasa	99
	8.7	Sharing Knowledge on Religion	107
	8.8	Visual Narratives on Tibetan Wedding Ceremonies	125
9	Journey to the South		157
	9.1	The Eastern Kyichu Valley	157
	9.2	Samye Monastery and Surroundings	168
	9.3	Ceremonies at Samye Monastery	174
	9.4	The Northern Yarlung Valley	220
	9.5	The Chonggye Valley and Southern Borderlands	228
10	Journey to the West		250
	10.1	The Western Kyichu Valley	250
	10.2	Yamdrok Lake and Surroundings	253
	10.3	Gyantse and the Nyang Valley	255
	10.4	Shigatse and Surroundings	257
	10.5	Lhatse, Shelkar and Dingri	265
	10.6	From Ngamring to Saga	273
	10.7	Tradun and Surroundings	281
	10.8	Lake Manasarowar and Surroundings	286
	10.9	Mount Kailash and Surroundings	288
	10.10	Gartok and Gar Gunsa	292
	10.11	Western Tibetan Borderlands	298
	10.12	The Lama's Journey to Kullu	302
11	Travelling in the West: The Ladakh Indus Valley and Zangskar Valley		306
	11.1	The Ladakh Indus Valley	306
	11.2	The Zangskar Valley	329
12	Conclusion: Understanding the Wise Collection		342
	Glossary		347
	List of Tibetan Words		349
	Bibliography		357
	Index		364