The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXXVII, Part 1-2, 1989 - Khamkoo

A Message from the President
You a re now reading the first issue of the joumn/ of till!
Sin111 Society in its newly revised format. The joumn/ has been
published by the Society for the past 85 yeors, and over th e
decades has ea rned fo r itself a reputation as a distinguished
scholarly publi ca ti on of g reat va lu e to all w ho are interested in
the history and culture of Thail and .
The Council of th e Society has d ecid ed, however, tha t it is
time to enhance the appeorance and presenta tion fo rmat of the
joumn/. to give it a li veli er and more modern image and tone,
whil e retaining its high scholarly standards and content.
In add iti on, the joumn/ henceforth w ill be issued quarterly,
and we look fo rward to diminishing th e interva l between
the receipt of contributio ns and their publica ti on, to the benefit
of au thors and readers ali ke. We trust that the mission of the
joumn/ to d issemina te the latest contributions to lea rning in the
field s of Thai a nd related cultures will serve the needs of both
professional scholars working in technica l specialties and of lay
enthusiasts seeking to in crease their knowledge.
This first issue of the new jSS has been mad e possible by
the generosity of Council Member M.R. C hirie Voravarn, and
commemorates the centenary of her eminent fa ther, Mom
Chao Sa kolvarnakorn Voravarn, to w hose memory it is d edica
ted .
Mom Chao Sa kolvarnakorn Voravarn was born on 9 Ju ne
1888, the eldest son of Krom Phra Narathip Prapanpong. He
had degrees in economi cs (Ca ntab.) and law. He served in th e
Ministry of the Interi or, and was Director Genera l of Public
Hea lth fo r twenty- fi ve yea rs. Mom Chao Sa kolvarnakorn Vorava
rn a lso served in the O ffi ce of the Jud icial Council , and was a
professor a t Thammasat Uni versity u ntil his d ea th in 1953. As
a member of the Siam Society Mom Chao Sa kolva rna korn
Voravarn was a contem porary of Major Eric Seid enfaden.
The Siam Society wishes to ex press its deepest appreciation
to M. R. C hirie, and sa lutes th e memory of one of its most
d istinguished Members.
We are honored and pleased to welcome three internationall
y famous pho tographers to the jourunl . Lu ca ln vernizzi
Tettoni has p rovided photographs o f distinction for many
ha ndsome books on Thai culture, such as The Arts ofThnilnud,
Tlw ilnud fro nt the Air a nd, most recently, Thni Style. Fred B.
Werner, a friend of th e Society of long sta nding, has recently
revisited the Society's home to present to us a range of
selections from hi s ex tensive portfoli o. Tedd y Spha
Pa lasthira, Member of th e Council , w inner of many crea tive
awards, author o f A Priut Poiu t of View, and an accom p lished
travel photographer, has d eri ved much of his inspiration
from scenes viewed on study trips conducted by the Siam
Society. We invite contributors to take ad va ntage of our
im p roved ca pability to illustra te our articles, especia ll y w ith
co lor.
The red esigned joumnl is now before you. We woul d
welcome your comments and suggestions.
Dr. Piriya Krairiksh
Presid ent
The Siam Society