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East of Siam was published in 1926 by Century Company, the same folks who published Century Magazine. The travels were not in Siam at all, but rather (as the title states) East of Siam in French Indo-China. At the time, this included Tongking, Laos, Annam, Cochin China and Cambodia. One of the cool things about this book is the full-color fold-out map that comes with the first edition showing the route that Harry traveled. There's a web site devoted to this very region, but with current country names, at http://www.mekongexpress.com/index.html. They've also got an essay on there entitled "Luang Prabang: Mists & Mystery, Religion & Tradition" that compares the prose in "East of Siam" to the countryside of some 30 years later. |
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There was also a less expensive edition of this book put out by Appleton Century as part of the Dollar Libary in 1939. It sold for--you guessed it!--one dollar. The dollar edition was slightly smaller in format, had fewer illustrations, and of course did not have the deluxe fold-out map. Still a great read, though!
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Another cool thing about this book is the part where Harry, as he roams about, meets up with the King of Luang Prabang, Tiao Sisavang Vong Somdet Prah. Being an honored guest, and according to the King himself, the first person from either North or South America to visit his kingdom, Harry was awarded the Royal Order of the Million Elephants and a White Parasol. It wasn't until later that Harry realized he'd need to go into the big city of Hanoi and purchase the medal for himself from a department store. |
Of course, the photos in the book are fabulous, like all the Harry Franck books. The pictures here are lower-resolution so they load quickly, but if you find a copy of the original book, you'll get to see much better images.
