First edition. Octavo, pp vii, iii, 324. With the contemporary half leather boards, spine lacking and the boards are separated from the page block. Some pencil underlining and marginalia. Previous owner’s name across the title page, of ‘H.[?]. Rogers R.E.’ On the blank facing is a note that the book’s author, “Bishop Bigandet, Bp. of Rangoon married Capt. Rogers R.E. & Miss Woods (at Tongu 2nd Feb 1857)” and below a further note in a different hand “The above is not correct. The Tonghoo marriage was by a Protestant chaplain. Bishop Bigandet married them afterwards according to Catholic Rites, presumably at Rangoon”. Both notes are initialed “S.R.”. Likely this was H.T. Rogers (1830-1898) of the Madras Engineers. Paul Bigandet (1813-1894) was a French Catholic missionary who served as Bishop of Lower Burma from 1856 to 1894. He was a Pali scholar, the language of Theravada Buddhism. This book was considered the standard reference work on the religion of the Burmese in the 19th century. The page block is in better than Good condition but the book will benefit from re-casing and a new spine. Definitely a scarce work. OCLC lists only one copy of this first edition, at the British Library.