Autograph letter signed by explorer Filippo De Filippi Central Asia dated 1914

DE FILIPPI, Filippo (1869–1938). Autograph letter signed, Leh, 13 March 1914 regarding the expedition to Baltistan, Pakistan, Ladakh, India and Xinjiang, China (1913–1914).
 
Four pages on bifolium, written in ink, with integral folds as issued. Minor edge wear and light creasing consistent with use. Toning along the top edge. Very good. 
 
A substantial and highly detailed field letter written during De Filippi’s major Central Asian scientific expedition of 1913–1914, reporting directly on the progress of survey, wireless, and logistical operations across northern India and the Karakoram region.
 
The letter describes the successful completion of work at Skardu in February 1914, including a “very successful period of wireless time-signals transmission” used for the determination of longitude. De Filippi recounts subsequent movements through Kargil, the establishment of further geophysical stations, and preparations for the transport of large bodies of men and supplies across high mountain passes, including the planned movement of “a first batch of 300 men”. He refers in detail to the determination of longitude by wireless methods, gravity work on the Rupshu plains, and the continued extension of stations toward Leh and Shyok. Particular attention is given to cooperation with local authorities, including repeated references to the Durbar officials at Kargil, whom De Filippi praises for their efficiency, impartiality, and personal assistance in securing supplies, transport, and escorts. 
 
De Filippi’s expedition to Baltistan, Ladakh, and Xinjiang (1913–1914) was one of the most ambitious multidisciplinary scientific enterprises of the period, encompassing geodesy, gravity measurement, wireless longitude determination, geology, topography, ethnography, and anthropology. Its results were later published in seventeen volumes and remain foundational in the scientific study of Central Asia.