I don’t tend to collect as many things as I used to, but recently I got obsessed with trying to obtain some very old and difficult to find English books on Kuwait. The three most recent books I managed to get have now become my most treasured ones, The Arab of the Desert (1949), Kuwait and Her Neighbours (1956), and The Wild Flowers of Kuwait and Bahrain (1955).
I had lusted after these books for some time now but because they were expensive, I never pulled the trigger on them. But, a few weeks back while at the home of the Australian ambassador, I spotted the books on his shelves. It was such an odd experience seeing them live, they were books I had obsessed about virtually but then seeing them in person felt so weird. I couldn’t believe he even had The Wild Flowers of Kuwait and Bahrain, a book written by Violet Dickson, the wife of H. R. P. Dickson and published in 1955. Not only a very difficult book to get because of its scarcity, but also one that wasn’t that popular due to its subject matter.
I quickly flipped through the books and posted some pictures on my Instagram story. As I was flipping through the books and taking photos I quickly realized how badly I needed to have these books. All this time I had been reading on the books and looking at photos of their covers, but I had never seen the books from the inside. Both “The Arab of the Desert” and “Kuwait and Her Neighbours” are filled with illustrations, fold-out maps and family trees, loose documents, black and white photos and tons and tons of interesting information. They are very thick books filled with a lot of content and after spending just a few minutes with them, there was no way I wasn’t getting them.
The first thing I did was delete the photos of the books I had just posted on my Instagram story. I realized if I wanted to get my hands on these books then I should get them first, and then post about them. I then spent the next two weeks going through every website I could find looking for the right copies of these books. I wanted first editions, I wanted the books with their dust jackets, I wanted them in good condition and most importantly, I wanted to pay a reasonable price. After a few emails to various sellers asking for more photos of the books, and after a few more emails negotiating the prices, I managed to get my hands on all three books. I managed to get first editions of Kuwait and Her Neighbours and The Wild Flowers of Kuwait and Bahrain (I think there is only one edition of this anyway), but I ended up getting a second edition print of The Arab of the Desert. I settled for a second edition print because of the price and the fact the copy I got was signed by his wife Violet Dickson.
I’m now trying to figure out how I can share the books online, not fully, but just a way for people to get a feel of these books. The best idea I have so far is to mount a camera on a tripod and then flip through the books while I record a video. If anyone has a better idea let me know. For now, I’ve temporarily created a highlight on my instagram account with pictures of the books and some pages inside. You can check those out on my account @mark248am
16 replies on “Must Have Old Books on Kuwait”
“The first thing I did was delete the photos of the books I had just posted on my Instagram story. I realized if I wanted to get my hands on these books then I should get them first, and then post about them.”
lol you’re THAT person…
well, yeah i didn’t have a choice unless I wanted to risk having someone else outbid me or buy the only copies available. for example there was just one copy of The Wild Flowers of Kuwait and Bahrain that had a dust jacket, and the second copy without a dust jacket was selling for $850. so either i bought it, or it was gone until god knows when another copy pops up online again. the books are very scarce. here is the link to the one without the dust jacket. https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=16217481365
How interesting to find this conversation. I was a child in Kuwait in the early 60s, and met Mrs. Dickson a couple of times when she was riding her horse along the American Embassy beach, where we often played. (my father was head of the Kuwait office for Aminoil) She stopped and talked with me and my friends, and taught us the Greek alphabet from atop her horse. I’m not sure what brought that conversation on, but I still remember being taught Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta …. etc by Mrs. Dickson. I think her husband had already passed away then. I have her wonderful book on wildflowers, and I have his book too. I live in Arkansas now and am writing a book on midcentury Kuwait, thus in doing some research I ran across this. My best, Dr. Teresa Brawner Bevis
Hey Teresa, please let us know when you publish your book
Good hobby, but make sure they are kept in pristine/the condition you got in when its in your ownership.
Well anyone who knows me knows I treat my stuff as they were meant to be treated when new. So they’re books and will be handled as such, I don’t have show pieces 😅
ِDid you ask the Australian Ambassador where he got his copies from?!
yup he got them online
You are really good at digging out stuff!! Great job.
Btw, i observe you are not very regular now on posting pictures on Instagram. Do you only do stories now?
Yeah I barely post, it’s mostly just stories
I can proudly say that I own all these books (some multiple copies) in my collection. All are signed, first editions, dust jacket. The only unsigned book is “Kuwait and her Neighbors” which I have been hunting down for the last 17 years and appears to be very elusive. I would love to know if anyone has a signed copy of this book. In fact, I have the title signed by Violet and her daughter Zahra but not the author himself and wonder if Harold Dickson sign a single copy). They are increasingly become scarce as there are many people who want a piece of Kuwait’s history in the written form. I have a few titles dating from the 1790’s on Kuwait as well and would love to chat up with anyone who has / collects rare books/maps on Kuwait or the region.
My late father was KOC’s Chief Fire Officer and had a first edition copy of “Arab of the Desert”, but never managed to get hold of “Kuwait and Her Neighbours” – after his death in 1998 I found a paperback reprint on Ebay by Hailer Publishing in Florida, USA – somewhat cheaper than the original hardback !
Incidentally I found a copy on Ebay of “A New Look at Kuwait” by the Dickson’s daughter Zahra Freeth – when I opened it I found a personal message to the original owner signed by Violet Dickson – pure fluke !
Over a decade ago I ordered a copy of “Kuwait was my Home” by Zarhra Freeth only to find signed personal inscriptions by both her father and mother. I cannot think of many instances wherein three people in the same family have written significant books about the country they have lived in.
I came across a copy of The Wildflowers for sale here:
https://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/447757129/the_wild_f.html
i am a collector of Dickson,s books – Kuwait and her neighbours ,and the Arab of the desert . i am not bothered by signatures or dust jackets as long as they are complete and in good conditions . i took maps out and put in one place because i was worried that people who take them for reading may take them out ,hence getting lost. can anyone how many maps and genealogy chart in every book?
Where’s a location?