You can download the PDF file for this catalogue here:
Africa September 2011.

Africa
September 2011

If you wish to purchase any item please email us at: wayfarers@shaw.ca

---

 

1. [Battle of Omdurman]

Manuscript Notes of an Eye-Witnesses Account of the Battle of Omdurman, 1898.
Lymington, ca. 1898. 4 pages. Pages: ca. 22 x 15 cm (9 x 6 inches) each. The pages and envelope are in very good condition and written in a legible hand.

From the papers of Eva Ducat, niece of Charles Baron Clarke, sometime Director of Kew and noted plant-hunter. Presumably the account was dictated to Eva Ducat (sample of her hand enclosed for comparison) by a relative (several Ducats appear in the records as military or naval, including "Gen. Ducat" referred to in correspondence from the botanist, C.B. Clarke, her uncle, and presumably her father).

 

The account commences: "Battle of Omdurman. / Encamped 5 or 6 miles outside City. Khalifa had force of 60,000 men, drew them up outside city day before. British force drawn up in form of horse-shoe with flanks on river. Camel corps on extreme right. (Archie Hamilton general.) If attacked at night our men wd have been [?] up. Kitchener kept all prisoners taken in the 2 days march; put them in hut when about 8 miles from Omdurman, held a false [sic] Council of War [?] them in wh. Determined to attack Khalifa that night. Then allowed them to escape." He describes the night when many soldiers had to walk up and down all night, a false alarm, description of the Khalifa's forces (brown men - cruel Bagarras [sic] and black "with thick etc"). "Put bullets in billies of dead animals over night that they might be unclean & so prevent wounded fm going to heaven." Their fighting ability, military disposition, use of maxim guns, appearance of dervish army, their attack, quote of "Etches" who asked if advancing army "Friendlies", the part played by the Zaruba, "Fine night to see 21st Lancer charge. Egyptian cavalry made to ride after fugitives (all they were fit for)", Egyptians sent forward to finish off those lying on the field, incident with "nigger", incident with "Pathfinder" Sergeant and axe, surrender, entry to Omdurman, giving a woman "silver 20 piatsre piece- took it in her hand, spat on it, & flung it at me", burying the dead, having to carry them ("ugh!"), description of the "Khalifa's rule" (cruelty). The notes then change subject for a paragraph on Kitchener [?] during the Boer War: "At Blomfontein left 40,000 men for 6 weeks outside the town in mud instead of quartering them on town [6000 died of dysentery]. Nothing to eat or buy..." Kitchener not a favourite.

"At the Battle of Omdurman (2 September 1898), an army commanded by the British General Sir Herbert Kitchener defeated the army of Abdullah al-Taashi, the successor to the self-proclaimed Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad. It was a demonstration of the superiority of a highly disciplined European-led army equipped with modern rifles and artillery over a vastly larger force of tribesmen armed with older weapons, and marked the success of British efforts to re-conquer the Sudan. However, it was not until the Battle of Umm Diwaykarat, a year later, that the final Mahdist forces were defeated" (Wikipedia).

$2250USD

2. [Belgian Congo, Collection of Photographs]

[Collection of 185 Photographs of the South Eastern Belgian Congo].

ca. 1910. Folio. 52 leaves. 185 (many photographs captioned in French) each 13 x 17 cm (5 x 7 inches) and smaller. Photographs mounted on charcoal colored card and housed in a custom made black cloth clam shell box with black gilt morocco labels. A very good collection of photographs.

The strong images of this album show colonial and tribal life in the Congo: Mwenda [Construction of an Outpost], Angola Border, Panda, Kalabi, Albertville, Elisabethville, Lualaba River, Kabalo, Muilu, Ruwe, Luashi, Matafu, Kansenia, Kafuba, Katentania etc. This is a rare early and interesting photo documentation of the Belgian colonial activities in the Congo and is especially interesting because most of the images relate to the south eastern Congo, and area which up until that point had been little visited.

"Under Leopold II's administration, the Congo Free State became the site of one of the worst man-made humanitarian disasters of the turn of the twentieth century. The report of the British Consul Roger Casement, published in early 1904, was an irrefutable indictment of the "rubber system": "..the drowsy, unsupervised machine of coercion which wore out the people and the land". In the absence of a census (the first was made in 1924), it is difficult to quantify the population loss of the period, but it must have been very high. According to Roger Casement's report, depopulation was caused mainly by four causes: "indiscriminate war", starvation, reduction of births, and tropical diseases. Adam Hochschild argues that roughly 10 million perished. The human suffering inflicted by the rapacious exploitation of the colony was immense"(Wikipedia).

$5250USD

3. [Belgian Congo, Photograph Album]

[Photograph Album of 134 Photographs of the Belgian Congo, with Katanga].

ca. 1910. Small Oblong Folio. 25 leaves. 134 uncaptioned photographs (82 silver and 52 platinum), each approx. 9 x 12 cm (3.5 x 4.5 inches). Period maroon cloth. A very good album.

The strong images of this album show colonial and tribal life in the Congo: two images of European officials at a conference for commerce in Katanga, various colonial buildings and settlements, colonial military exercises, river people, mining operations, native people and settlements, landscapes and crops.

Katanga or Garanganze was part of the "Yeke Kingdom and controlled the only trade route across the continent from east and west, since the Kalahari Desert and Lozi Kingdom in the south and the Congo rainforest in the north blocked alternative routes. When King Leopold II of Belgium was told that the Yeke Kingdom controlled east-west trade and was rich in copper and possibly gold, he sent expeditions to try to obtain a treaty for the kingdom to be joined with his Congo Free State. Cecil Rhodes also sent expeditions to sign up the kingdom to his British South Africa Company's chartered territories. The 'scramble for Katanga' was won by Leopold's Stairs Expedition, which ended the kingdom by killing Msiri, and took over the territory for the CFS but with its own administration until it was more closely incorporated into the Belgian Congo"(Wikipedia). This is a rare early and interesting photo documentation of the Belgian colonial activities in the Congo.

$2750USD

4. [Boer War – Natal Photograph Album]

[Boer War – Natal Photograph Album with 73 Photographs].

1899-1904. Oblong Quarto. 24 leaves. Most photographs 14 x 20 cm (5.5 x 8 inches) many with captions. Period maroon gilt tooled half morocco with brown pebbled cloth boards. A very good photo album.

The strong images of this album mainly show Boer War images including panoramas of: the Battle of Colenso, the Battle of Spion Kop, the Battle of Pieters, the Battle of Krantz Kloof, the Battle of Monte Christo; also with images of Ladysmith, Tugela Falls, Drakensberg and snapshots of British military life.

 

"The nadir of Black Week was the Battle of Colenso on 15 December [1899] where 21,000 British troops commanded by Buller himself, attempted to cross the Tugela River to relieve Ladysmith where 8,000 Transvaal Boers, under the command of Louis Botha, were awaiting them. Through a combination of artillery and accurate rifle fire, and a better use of the ground, the Boers repelled all British attempts to cross the river. After his first attacks failed, Buller broke off the battle and ordered a retreat, abandoning many wounded men, several isolated units and ten field guns to be captured by Botha's men.., The British government took these defeats badly and with the sieges still continuing was compelled to send two more divisions plus large numbers of colonial volunteers. By January 1900 this would become the largest force Britain had ever sent overseas, amounting to some 180,000 men with further reinforcements being sought.

While waiting for these reinforcements, Buller made another bid to relieve Ladysmith by crossing the Tugela west of Colenso. Buller's subordinate, Major General Charles Warren, successfully crossed the river, but was then faced with a fresh defensive position centered on a prominent hill known as Spion Kop. In the resulting Battle of Spion Kop, British troops captured the summit by surprise during the early hours of 24 January 1900, but as the early morning fog lifted they realized too late that they were overlooked by Boer gun emplacements on the surrounding hills. The rest of the day resulted in a disaster caused by poor communication between Buller and his commanders. Between them they issued contradictory orders, on the one hand ordering men off the hill, while other officers ordered fresh reinforcements to defend it. The result was 350 men killed and nearly 1,000 wounded and a retreat back across the Tugela River into British territory" (Wikipedia).

$1750USD

5. [De Bry] , [Johann Theodor de] (1561-1623)

[Pigafetta Map of the Congo] Tabula Geogra: Regni Congo.

Frankfurt: Theodore De Bry, [1597]. 31 x 38 cm (12 x 15 inches). A nice strong impression. A couple of minor marginal tears, otherwise a very good copy.

 

"Boldly engraved map of the Congo region of the West African coast from just south of the equator to present-day Angola with a highly conjectural Congo river system. Dramatic topography and imaginary cities are depicted and the map is adorned by an elaborate title cartouche and a compass rose. The map accompanied a description by Pigafetta of Eduardo Lopez's visit to the region in 1578. From: Petit Voyages, Part I" (Old World Auctions). "Duarte Lopez was a Portuguese trader to Congo and Angola who wrote one of the earliest descriptions of Central Africa. Lopez first left Portugal for the Congo in April 1578, sailing on his uncle's trading vessel.., Lopez was able to relate everything he knew about the Congo to Filippo Pigafetta, who had been charged with collecting information about the region. The result was published by Pigafetta in 1591, although much of what it contained bordered on the fabulous. Lopez returned to the Congo in 1589, after which nothing more is heard of him" (Howgego L146).

$1450USD

6. [Egypt]

[Manuscript Diary of a Tour Through England, France, Italy and Egypt by an American Lady and her companion. First volume only]. [With] A printed map of Egypt, and a couple of manuscript leaves also in journal form and a detailed sketch with descriptive text of a Nile Dhow.

1874-5. Small Quarto. 258 pp. Written in a clear hand in ink, with approx. 21 lines per page. 22nd August, 1874 – 27th February, 1875. Handsome period red gilt tooled full limp morocco with marbled endpapers & edges. A fine copy.

The unidentified author and her female companion left New York on board the Cunard steam-ship Algeria for Liverpool on 22nd August, 1874. Although a loose newspaper clipping which accompanies the journal gives the details of some of the passengers on board, it has not been possible to identify the author or her companion.

 

After a night at the Adelphi Hotel in Liverpool the ladies travelled to London where they were based at Brown's hotel from 3rd September. The descriptions of London in 1874 are particularly vivid and nothing seemed to escape the notice of the inquisitive American. Arriving at Euston station (then a grand imposing building, and not the machine for travelling that replaced it) she was fascinated by six convicts which she saw chained together. Her frequent visits to the South Kensington Museum (now the Victoria & Albert Museum) suggest an intelligent and inquisitive mind, as does the detailed picture which she gives of London life: lunching at Charring Cross station ("noisy & confused"), visiting many of the usual, and some unusual tourist places: the National Gallery, St. Paul's, the new Holborn Viaduct, a Lunatic Asylum, International Gallery, Westminster Abbey, Northumberland House (which was at the time being dismantled for sale by auction, piece by piece), and Sir George Gilbert Scott's Foreign Office, which opened in 1868.

At the British Museum the two women saw Etruscan jewellery, recently purchased for the vast sum of £20,000, and from the British Library two medieval manuscripts formerly in the collection of the Dukes of Norfolk. With dinner at the Criterion (where the fine wall tiles were admired), ices from Gunter's in Berkeley Square and a trip across the new Chelsea suspension bridge (2p toll each way) to Battersea Park ("a park for the people") their days in London were full and varied. The ladies also began making preparations for their journey to Egypt, purchasing guide books from Murray's and Stamford's, as well as magnesium torches and coloured spectacles which came from a Mr. Solomon of Red Lion Square.

Moving on to Paris the ladies stayed at the Westminster, and whole days were "given up to vanity", with hair appointments and visits to Worth for gowns. They visited the studio of the artist Schenck, who "does not hesitate to say that he is the first cattle painter of France"! At the Louvre they found some of the pictures to be "very fine", and made visits to the Théatre Française, and the Gaiété to see "Orphée aux Enfers" (Offenbach, 1858). From Paris they travelled through France, via Dijon (a loom in every home - "noise quite remarkable"), and Lyons ("a fine city"), to Marseilles, where they marvelled at the various fruit and sea food available (including sea urchins which were unknown to them).

From Marseilles the intrepid ladies sailed to Italy, landing in Genoa. They travelled South visiting Pisa, where they decided not to go into the leaning tower, Florence, where they seem to have visited every gallery and garden, and of course Rome where they found excavation at the Coliseum which went down as far as 25 or 30 feet - the Pantheon and the Trevi fountain seem to have been intact. Having visited Naples en route the travellers finally reached Brindisi from where they took ship for Egypt.

Arriving at Alexandria the visitors viewed Pompey's column, and interestingly the obelisk known as Cleopatra's Needle. This had been presented to Britain by the Albanian-born viceroy of Egypt, Mehmet-Ali, in 1819 in commemoration of the victories of Lord Nelson at the Battle of the Nile and Sir Ralph Abercromby at the Battle of Alexandria in 1801. Although the British government welcomed the gesture, it declined to fund the expense of transporting it to London, and so the obelisk remained in Alexandria until 1877 when Sir William James Erasmus Wilson, a distinguished anatomist and dermatologist, sponsored its transportation to London at a cost of some £10,000. Dug out of the sand in which it had been buried for nearly 2,000 years the obelisk was encased in a great iron cylinder, which acted as a pontoon. At 92 feet long and 15 feet in diameter, it was designed by the engineer John Dixon and dubbed Cleopatra. It had a vertical stem and stern, a rudder, two bilge keels, a mast for balancing sails, and a deck house. Towed to London by the Olga the iron cylinder capsized in a storm in the Bay of Biscay on 14 October 1877, with the loss of six lives, and drifted until it was rescued by the English ship Fitzmaurice and taken to Ferrol in Spain for repairs. Having finally arrived in Gravesend on 21 January 1878, the obelisk was erected on the Victoria Embankment the following August.

At Cairo the author and her companion checked into Shepherd's Hotel where they met up with various friends, some of whom had been to see "howling" Dervishes. The author, her companion, their maid Josephine, and a gentleman referred to only as "Mr. D.", were soon on their 86-foot Nile boat (a manuscript plan of which is included in the journal), with a crew of nine to look after them and of course to pull the boat when the wind failed. At a total cost of £570 (the boat being £70 a month, the dragoman £4 a day &c.&c.) the boat was thought to be good value, and the tourists made their way up the Nile, stopping at all the great monuments: Philae, Denderrah, Abu Simbel, Karnak &c.&c.

$2500USD

7. [Flameng , Leopold]

[Etching of Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) after a painting by Sir Frederick Leighton].

[1879]. ca. 22 x 18 cm (8.5 x 7 inches). Etching matted and framed in an old Zanzibar frame.

This rare etching is based on the portrait by "Frederic Leighton, Baron Leighton (1830-1896). This austere, ponderous and intense image of one of the great explorers of Victorian England captures his slightly brutal character very effectively. The artist Frederic Leighton met Burton in 1869 while they were taking a cure at Vichy and they formed a firm friendship which lasted until Burton's death. On 26 April 1872, Burton began sitting for his portrait. According to Lady Burton, he was extraordinarily difficult about it, anxious that his necktie and pin might be omitted and pleading with the artist, 'Don't make me ugly, there's a good fellow.' Apparently the portrait was left unfinished when Burton departed for Trieste in October 1872 and it was not completed until 1875. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy the following year, but it is possible that Burton did not like it, because Leighton kept it at his house in Kensington. He intended to leave it to the National Portrait Gallery, of which he was a Trustee, but forgot, so the then Director, Lionel Cust, arranged for it to be donated by Leighton's sisters" (National Portrait Gallery).

 

"Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his extraordinary knowledge of languages and cultures. According to one count, he spoke 29 European, Asian and African languages.

Burton's best-known achievements include travelling in disguise to Mecca, an unexpurgated translation of One Thousand and One Nights (also commonly called The Arabian Nights in English after Andrew Lang's abridgement), bringing the Kama Sutra to publication in English, and journeying with John Hanning Speke as the first Europeans led by Africa's greatest explorer guide, Sidi Mubarak Bombay, utilizing route information by Indian and Omani merchants who traded in the region, to visit the Great Lakes of Africa in search of the source of the Nile. Burton extensively criticized colonial policies (to the detriment of his career) in his works and letters. He was a prolific and erudite author and wrote numerous books and scholarly articles about subjects including human behaviour, travel, falconry, fencing, sexual practices and ethnography. A unique feature of his books is the copious footnotes and appendices containing remarkable observations and unexpurgated information" (Wikipedia).

$1500USD

8. [Gordon of Khartoum] , Charles George, Major-General (1833-1885)

[A Small Collection About General Gordon Including: a Printed Pamphlet by Edward Sullivan titled "The Truth About Gordon" ('Series A. - No. 1.'; London: National Union of Conservative and Constitutional Associations, 1885). [With] The autographs of Gordon's sister ('M A Gordon') and sister-in-law ('M. F. M. Gordon'). [With] a Lithographed Print of Major General Charles George Gordon. C.B. A Mandarin of the Highest Order in Service to China. And a Pasha in the Service of the Porte. Issued as a Supplement to the Worcester Herald, Saturday Feb. 7th 1885].

1885. The pamphlet, signatures and print are all in good to very good condition.

Pamphlet: Signed in type 'Edward Sullivan' (i.e. Sir Edward Robert Sullivan, 1826-1899). Octavo 4 pp. On creased, spotted and aged paper with closed tears and loss to extremities. Initial paragraph reads: 'Before the British Elector makes up his mind as to whom he will entrust the honour of his country at the General Election, it will be well for him to "read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest" a plain, unvarnished history of the betrayal and death of one of the noblest heroes of this or any other age - GENERAL GORDON.' Headings: 'Why he was sent.', 'What he demanded', 'The hope that ended in despair', 'The end', 'Interest before duty' and 'Our duty and interest'. Very Rare as only one copy found in Worldcat.

Signatures: the two autographs are cut from letters, and laid down on part of an octavo leaf cut from an autograph album, which is captioned in a contemporary hand. Both aged, but in good condition. The autograph of Gordon's sister is on a slip 4 x 10.5 cm, and reads 'Believe me yours very truly - [signed] 'M A Gordon'. The autograph of his sister-in-law (the wife of his brother General Samuel Enderby Gordon, 1824-1883) is on a slip 4.5 x 7 cm, and reads 'Believe me Truly yours [signed] 'M. F. M. Gordon'.

Print: (From a Photograph by Adams & Scanlan. Southampton.) Maclure & Macdonald Liths. to the Queen, London. Lithograph: 57 x 44cm (22.5 x 17.5 inches) with various newspaper clippings mounted onto margins.

"Gordon withstood a siege of 317 days supported by two white officers with native troops wasted by famine and disease. Then, on 26 January 1885, a fall in the level of the Nile enabled the Mahdists to succeed in a final assault on Khartoum. Gordon was speared by dervishes in his palace, and his dissevered head was displayed in the Mahdists' camp. Wolseley's river steamers came in sight of Khartoum on 28 January, then withdrew. Gordon's body was never found" (Oxford DNB).

$1250USD

9. [Harar, Ethiopia Photograph Album]

[Album of 23 Original Photographs of Eastern Ethiopia from Dire Dawa to Harar by Unidentified Photographer but most Likely the British Consul in Harar].

ca. 1910. Oblong Quarto. 28 leaves. With 23 silver print photographs, each approx. 9 x 14 cm (3.5 x 5.5 inches). Period brown gilt tooled half morocco with brown cloth boards. A very good album

 

The strong images of this album show Eastern Ethiopia from Dire Dawa to Harar and include the "Head of the Pass to Dire Dawa, "Lake Haramaya," "A Road" [to Harar], "Huts," camels and herders, and eighteen views of Harar including panoramas, "town from N.E., "West Gate," market scenes, British official on horseback (Consul?), sporting a pith helmet and uniform (likely the compiler of the album) and "Consular Hut from West." "Harar lost some of its commercial importance with the creation of the Addis Ababa-Djibouti Railway, initially intended to run via the city but diverted north of the mountains between Harar and the Awash River to save money. As a result of this, Dire Dawa was founded in 1902 as New Harar" (Wikipedia).This is a rare early and interesting photo documentation of the until about 1875 "Forbidden City" of Harar.

$1750USD

10. [History of the Exploration of Africa]

The History of Southern and Central Africa: Its Topography, Geography, Natural Productions, etc., etc. the Whole Embracing the Results of the Travels and Researches of the Most Celebrated and Eminent African Explorers.

London: Adam & Co, [1876]. First Edition. Small Folio. 3 vols. x, 310; 311-624; 625-948 pp. With a chromo-lithographed title and 27 other tinted lithographs. Original publisher's brown very decorative pictorial gilt cloth. Inner hinge of volume one cracked, otherwise a very good set.

 

This opulent work encompasses "the life, travels, adventures, and discoveries of David Livingstone.., and the explorations of Barth, Speke and Grant, Baker, Schweinfurth, Moffat, Stanley, Cameron, and the distinguished travellers of an earlier period" (Second Title).

$675USD

11. [Italian Eritrea]

[Italian Colonization of Eritrea: Two Rare Items: A Rare Russian Offprint: TROYANSKY, A.S. Eritreiskaia Koloniia Italii [The Italian Colony in Eritrea] [With] An Early Italian Map of Eritrea: LA BAIA D'ASSAB CARTA GEOGRAFICA PER SEGUIRE LA SPEDIZIONE MILITAIRE ITALIANA [Geographical Map of the Bay of Assab to Follow the Italian Military Expedition].

1884-1893. The offprint and the map are in very good to good condition.

TROYANSKY , Alexander Stepanovich (1835-1905) . Eritreiskaia Koloniia Italii [The Italian Colony in Eritrea]. Saint Petersburg: V. Kirschbaum, 1893. Large Octavo. Separately issued offprint of the article in "The Proceedings of the Statistical Department of the Russian Geographical Society" (Vol. VII, Issue II). [6], 65, 2 pp. Original greenish gray publisher's printed wrappers. With author's inscription on the title page "As a remembrance from Troyansky". Corners and sides of the wrappers with very minor tears and losses, otherwise a very good copy.

Very rare short-run brochure as only 1 microform copy found in Worldcat. One of the first Russian books on Eritrea, written by the Russian General Council in Palermo just three years after the official formation of the colony and two years before the First Italian-Ethiopian War 1895-1896, which finally delineated the borders of the colony. From the Preface: "Although African Lands have usually been out of attention of the Russian Geographical Society, because of recent increased attention to Abyssinia we decided to publish this account about a very important possession of one of the European countries next to Abyssinia. Troyansky's work with all its briefness is comprehensive and significantly contributes to our modest literature about Africa" . For this work the Russian Geographical Society awarded Troyansky with its silver medal.

The book includes the following chapters:

1) History of Massawa and neighbouring countries. Founding of Italian colony in Eritrea;

2) Territory, borders and population of the colony. Italian immigration to Eritrea;

3) Administration, state, legal system;

4) Italian army in Eritrea, finance, budget of the colony, tax system. Social sphere, transportation, post and telegraph, schools;

5) Climate, waters, minerals, flora and fauna, agriculture, animal produce, crafts;

6) Trade with Italy and other countries, Massawa and Assab ports.

Bibliography contains 19 Italian works.

[With] LA BAIA D'ASSAB CARTA GEOGRAFICA PER SEGUIRE LA SPEDIZIONE MILITAIRE ITALIANA [Geographical Map of the Bay of Assab as a Reference for the Italian Military Expedition] . Torino: Carlo Manfredi, [1884]. Terza Edizione [Third Edition]. Large chromolithographed folding map 75x50 cm (29x20 inches). Original illustrated wrappers. Map with minor tears on folds and occasional spotting, wrappers soiled, with minor tears. Overall a good copy.

Rare interesting map of the early history of Italian influence in Eritrea, no copies found in Worldcat. Contains a large map of the East Africa with outlining the Italian Colony in Assab and leaving Massawa still independent (it was occupied in 1885). Additional smaller maps show detailed charts of the ports of Assab and Massawa, Sudanese and Danakil territories. A special text block contains "Gli Interessi Italiani in Africa."

“The history of Eritrea is tied to its strategic position on the Red Sea littoral, with a coastline that extends more than 1,000 km.., In the period following the opening of the Suez canal in 1869, when European powers scrambled for territory in Africa and tried to establish coaling stations for their ships, Italy invaded and occupied Eritrea. In 1882 the Eritrean port Assab and in 1885 Massawa became an Italian colony and on January 1, 1890 the whole Eritrea officially became a colony. Italy planned to expand its possessions from Eritrea into the more fertile Abyssinian hinterland, but Ethiopia's military victory in the First Italian-Ethiopian War secured it the distinction of being the only African nation to successfully resist European colonialism” (Wikipedia).

$975USD

12. [Mozambique, A Collection of Five Works]

[A Collection of Five Works on Mozambique from the Library of Ayres d'Ornellas (Governor of the District of Lourenco Marques) Including]: Jeronymo Romero: Supplemento a´ Memoria Descriptiva e Estatistica do Districto de Cabo Delgad : com noticia a´cerca do estabelecimento da Colonia de Pemba; [With] Levy Maria Jorda~o: Memoria sobre Lourenc¸o Marques (Delagoa Bay); [With] A. J. Da Silva Costa: Guia do Canal Mocambique; [With] Augusto de Castilho: O Districto de Lourenc¸o Marques, no Presente e no Futuro; [With] Alvaro Andrea: Esboco Hydrographico do Limpopo 1898].

Lisboa: Typographia Universal & Imprensa Nacional etc, 1860; 1870; 1878; 1881. Four Firsts & a Second Edition. Octavo, 5vols. viii, 164; lxxxvi, 146; [232]; 46 pp. With two frontispieces, and four other wood engraved folding plates and five folding maps, some large. Bound by the Mozambique Colonial Government Official Binder for the Governor of the District of Lourenco Marques in maroon elaborately gilt tooled full and Indian half calf. Very good copies.

 

Five important works on Mozambique, bound by the Mozambique Colonial Government Official Binder for the Library of Library of Ayres d'Ornellas (Governor of the District of Lourenco Marques). Aires d'Ornelas e Vasconcelos (1866-1930) in 1905, at the invitation of John de Azevedo Coutinho (Governor General of Mozambique), served as governor of the District of Lourenco Marques for eight months. Then in May 1906, Aires d'Ornelas became Portuguese Minister of Marine and Colonies. In office in 1907, he accompanied the Crown Prince D. Louis-Philippe on a trip to the Portuguese colonies of Africa, visiting Cape Verde, Angola and Mozambique. "Maputo, also known as Lourenço Marques, is the capital and largest city of Mozambique. It is known as the City of Acacias in reference to acacia trees commonly found along its avenues and the Pearl of the Indian Ocean. It was famous for the inscription "This is Portugal" on the walkway of its municipal building. Today it is a port city on the Indian Ocean, with its economy centered around the harbour" (Wikipedia).

$2750USD

13. [Mozambique]

Relato´rio dos Trabalhos Militares no Districto de Moc¸ambique. [Report of Proceedings in the Military District of Mozambique].

Lourenc¸o Marques (Maputo): Tipografia Minerva Central, 1915. First Edition. Large Octavo. 146 pp. With seven large folding lithographed maps. Printed pink publishers paper wrappers. A very good copy.

 

Rare Mozambique Imprint as only two copies found in Worldcat. "In 1891 the Portuguese shifted the administration of much of the country to a large private company, under a charter granting sovereign rights for 50 years to the Companhia de Moçambique, which, though it had its headquarters at Beira, was controlled and financed mostly by the British" (Wikipedia).

$575USD

14. [Northern Sudan]

[Watercolor] Nubian with his Camel.

ca. 1850. ca.25 x 35 cm (10 x 14 inches). Fine matted watercolor captioned with title. A little soiled around edge of matt, otherwise a very good watercolor.

A fine watercolor by a unknown British artist, perhaps an explorer or traveller. "Northern Nubia was brought under Egyptian control while the south came under the control of the Kingdom of Sennar in the 16th century. The entire region would come under Egyptian control during the rule of Mehemet Ali in the early 19th century, and later became a joint Anglo-Egyptian condominium" (Wikipedia).

$1750USD

15. [Possibly Barnard? , Frederick Lamport]

[Manuscript Map of Central Madagascar].

Mar. 17 1848. Approx. 32 x 41 cm (13 x 16 inches) Original manuscript map in pen on bluish paper. Folded, slightly age-toned otherwise in very good condition.

This interesting and important map dated March 17th 1848 has the following note:"N.B. Antsianaka, Imerina, and Betsileo are the three most central provinces of Madagascar, and believed to be by far the most populous. The country between the coast and the plateau of the interior is forest and very thinly inhabited."

 

Possibly drawn by Frederick Lamport Barnard (Author of: 'A three years' cruize in the Mozambique Channel for the suppression of the slave trade'), this map of central Madagascar shows the areas of influence of the London Missionary Society, the Church Missionary Society and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. The main cities, mountains and rivers are also drawn in as well as the unexplored areas.

 

This map of the main population centers of Madagascar was made during the "33-year reign of Queen Ranavalona I (Ranavalona the Cruel), the widow of Radama I, began inauspiciously with the queen murdering the dead king's heir and other relatives. The aristocrats and sorcerers (who had lost influence under the liberal régime of the previous two Merina kings) re-asserted their power during the reign of Ranavalona I. The queen repudiated the treaties that Radama I had signed with Britain..., She issued a royal edict prohibiting the practice of Christianity in Madagascar, expelled British missionaries from the island, and persecuted Christian converts who would not renounce their religion. Christian customs are not the customs of our ancestors, she explained. The queen scrapped the legal reforms started by Andrianampoinimerina in favour of the old system of trial by ordeal" (Wikipedia). "An ill-managed attack by combined British and French forces on Tamatave in 1846 led to the total exclusion of all Europeans, and foreign commerce almost ceased" (Howgego 1800-1850, M5).

$1750USD

16. [South Africa-Transvaal Photograph Album]

[South Africa & Transvaal Photograph Album with 56 Photographs, two loose].

ca. 1892. Quarto. 36 leaves. Most photographs 20 x 15 cm (8 x 6 inches) with captions. Period black gilt tooled half morocco with brown pebbled cloth boards. A very good photo album.

The strong images of this album show images South Africa and the Transvaal including: Near Krugersdorp, Near Hatherley & Hatherley Distillery, near Pretoria, Lydenburg, Paard Kraal, Krugersdorp, Johannesbury (Market Buildings, Natal Bank, Grand National Hotel, Palace Buildings, Market Place, Wanderers' Club, Post Office, Club Buildings) and President Paul Kruger and his wife.

 

"Beginning during 1885, the discovery of a tremendous lode of gold in the Witwatersrand caused the immigration of many foreigners (uitlanders) to the Transvaal. The economy of the Transvaal soon boomed. The wealth of the Transvaal state was bound to overcome the British-controlled, Boer-dominated Cape Colony, and it was speculated the Boers might eject the British from power in the region. Furthermore, the longer this new source of gold remained out of British control, the position of London as the main market of the world's gold trade was threatened. Using the ZAR refusal to grant Uitlander franchise as a pretext, the British therefore planned annexation of Transvaal, as a continuation of their seizure years prior of the former Orange Free State and the immense diamond fields of Kimberley therein. During 1895 foreign mine owners funded an attempted coup d'état known as The Jameson Raid. The financiers of the Raid were dissatisfied with the Boer's taxation and restrictions of business. The raid caused alarm among the Boers and resulted in massive armament, mainly from German suppliers" (Wikipedia).

$2250USD

17. [Southern African Automobile Safari]

Two Photograph Albums: Southern African Automobile Safari.

ca. 1920. Oblong Folio. Two albums. ca. 40 leaves. with ca. 480 photographs, ca. 10 x 13 cm (4. x 5 inches). Original brown patterned cloth. Very good albums.

 

The strong images show: the Zambezi, Victoria Falls, hunting(: elephants, warthogs, rhinoceros, gazelle, antelope, water buffalo, zebra, & leopard), natives and native life, camps and camp life, difficulties in crossing African terrain with an automobile, Cape Town and visiting Cairo and the Pyramids.

$1250USD

18. [Tangier]

A Discourse Touching Tangier: in a letter to a person of quality. To which is added, the interest of Tangier: by another hand.

London, 1680. First Edition. Octavo. 3-40 without first blank pp. Handsome period style brown gilt tooled half calf with red gilt morocco label. A very good copy.

"English Tangier was a colony of the Kingdom of England and a military and naval base in Tangier, held by the English from 1661 to 6 February 1684, when it returned to being part of Morocco.., In 1680, the pressure from the Moroccans increased, as the Moroccan Sultan Moulay Ismail joined forces with the Chief of Fez in order to pursue a war against all foreign troops in his land. Reinforcements were needed at the Garrison, which was raised to 3,000 in number.., The Royal Scots, shortly followed by a further foot regiment, the 2nd Tangier Regiment raised on July 13, 1680, were sent to Tangier. The new regiment was accompanied by the King's Battalion, which was formed from the Grenadier and Coldstream Guards. The Battalion landed in July 1680, and fierce attacks were made against the Moors, who had gained a footing on the edge of the town, finally defeating them by controlled and well-aimed musket fire. The Battalion remained in Tangier until the fort was abandoned.

 

For some time Parliament had been concerned about the cost of maintaining the Tangier garrison. By 1680 the King had threatened to give up Tangier unless the supplies were voted for its sea defences, intended to provide a safe harbour for shipping. The fundamental problem was that in order to keep the town and harbour free from cannon fire the perimeter of the defended area had to be vastly increased. A number of outworks were built but the siege of 1680 showed that the Moroccans were capable of isolating and capturing these outworks by entrenchments and mining. The garrison at Tangier had to be constantly reinforced, having cost nearly two million pounds of royal treasure, and many lives had been sacrificed in its defence. Merchant ships continued to be harassed by Barbary pirates, and undefended crews were regularly captured into slavery" (Wikipedia); Cox I, p.364; Kress 1517; Playfair Morocco 271.

$1750USD

19. [Uganda Railway, Photograph Album]

[Photograph Album of 48 Original Photographs of the Uganda Railway from Mombassa to Port Florence on the Kavirondo (Winam) Gulf with Photographs by William D. Young , Photographer, Mombasa and mostly from the property (suggested by accompanying manuscript material) by Harry Augustus Frederick Currie (1866-1912) who was appointed the Uganda Railway Manager in 1903. [With] Eighteen British Parliamentary Papers About the Building of the Uganda Railway 1893-1905. [With] seven pages of manuscript notes relating to the life of Harry Augustus Frederick Currie and four pages of copied text and photos with manuscript notes].

1893-1905. Album: Oblong Quarto. Album: 24 leaves. Album with 48 original photographs ca, 16 x 21cm (6.5 x 8 inches). Period black gilt tooled half morocco with brown cloth boards with the title "Photographs" gilt tooled on the front cover. A very good album. The British Parliamentary Papers generally in fine condition and housed in a custom box with paper label.

The strong images of the album contain images including: Ruins of Vasco da Gama Fort - Entrance to Mombasa Harbour, Panorama of Mombasa from English Point, Mombasa from the Fort, H.M. Customs and Landing Stages, Mombasa, Vasco da Gama Street Mombasa, Mombasa Hospital from the Fort, Kilindini Harbour, Kikuyu Escarpment, construction of railway, Kedong River, Lake Elmenteita, Mau Escarpment, Londiani River, Londiani, Kedowa, Kibigori, Muhoroni, Stanley River, Kavirondo Gulf, and various native group photos. "The Uganda Railway was built by the British Empire under the Foreign Office at the start of the period when Britain maintained colonial control of the region as British East Africa. Construction of the line started at the port city of Mombasa in the Kenya Colony in 1896 and reached Kisumu, on the eastern shore of Lake Victoria, in 1901. By 1931 it was extended to Kampala in the Uganda Protectorate. Although almost all of the rail line was actually in the colony that would come to be known as Kenya, the original purpose of the project was to provide a modern transport link to carry raw materials out of, and manufactured British goods into, the Uganda Protectorate" (Wikipedia).

 

"William D. Young, who also worked as official photographer for the Ugandan railways, documenting the construction of the Mombasa-Kampala line, founded the famous Dempster Studio in Mombasa (with a branch in Nairobi in 1905)" (arts.jrank.org).

The British Parliamentary Papers include:

FOREIGN OFFICE. REPORT ON THE MOMBASA VICTORIA LAKE RAILWAY SURVEY. London: Houses of Parliament, 1893. 124 pp. Folio. Rebound in card covers. Seven large folding maps. British Parliamentary Paper. C7025. Much information on tribes along route. Chapter on slave trade in the region. A clean copy.

FOREIGN OFFICE. REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE APPOINTED TO CONSIDER THE QUESTION OF RAILWAY COMMUNICATION WITH UGANDA. London: Houses of Parliament, 1895. 7 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. British parliamentary Paper Africa No 8 (1895). C7833. A clean copy.

REPORT ON THE PROGRESS OF THE MOMBASA-VICTORIA (UGANDA) RAILWAY, 1897-98. London: Houses of Parliament, 1898. 5 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. Folding map . Library mark on cover. British Parliamentary Paper. Africa No 8 (1898). C8942.

REPORT BY THE MOMBASA-VICTORIA (UGANDA) RAILWAY COMMITTEE ON THE PROGRESS OF THE WORKS, 1898-99. London: HMSO, 1899. 18 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. Large folding map. Neat library mark on reverse of title page. British Parliamentary Paper. Africa No 6 (1899). C9333.

FOREIGN OFFICE. MEMORANDA RELATING TO UGANDA RAILWAY. 1900. London: Houses of Parliament, 1900. 9 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. British parliamentary Paper Africa No 4 (1900). Cd97. History of works & costs. A clean copy.

FOREIGN OFFICE. REPORT BY THE MOMBASA-VICTORIA (UGANDA) RAILWAY COMMITTEE ON THE PROGRESS OF THE WORKS, 1899-1900. London: Houses of Parliament, 1900. 13pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. Neat library mark on cover. Large folding map. British parliamentary Paper Africa No 7 (1900). Cd355.

FOREIGN OFFICE. CORRESPONDENCE RESPECTING THE UGANDA RAILWAY. London: HMSO, 1901. 67 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. British Parliamentary Paper Africa No 6(1901). Cd670. Neat library mark on reverse of title page. Includes a comprehensive report on the Railway by Col Gracey.

FOREIGN OFFICE. REPORT BY THE MOMBASA-VICTORIA (UGANDA) RAILWAY COMMITTEE ON THE PROGRESS OF THE WORKS, 1900-1901. London: HMSO, 1901. 12 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. Large folding map. British parliamentary Paper Africa No 8 (1901). Cd674. A clean copy.

FOREIGN OFFICE. REPORT BY THE MOMBASA-VICTORIA (UGANDA) RAILWAY COMMITTEE ON THE PROGRESS OF THE WORKS, 1901-1902. London: Houses of Parliament, 1902. 15 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. Two large folding maps. British parliamentary Paper Africa No 4 (1902). Cd1080. A clean copy.

FOREIGN OFFICE.. MEMORANDA RELATING TO UGANDA RAILWAY. 1902. London: Houses of Parliament, 1902. 11 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. British parliamentary Paper Africa No 5 (1902). Cd1082. A clean copy.

LYNE. R. N. REPORT ON THE AGRICULTURAL POSPECTS OF THE PLATEAUX OF THE UGANDA RAILWAY. London: Houses of Parliament, 1902. 11 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. Foreign Office Diplomatic and Consular reports. Misc Series No 577. A clean copy.

A BILL to provide further MONEY for the UGANDA RAILWAY. London: HMSO, 1902. 2 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. Disbound British Parliamentary Paper. Bill 308. A clean copy.

FOREIGN OFFICE. REPORT BY THE MOMBASA-VICTORIA (UGANDA) RAILWAY COMMITTEE ON THE PROGRESS OF THE WORKS AND REVENUE WORKING 1902-1903. London: Houses of Parliament, 1903. 22 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. Two large folding maps. British parliamentary Paper Africa No 12 (1903). Cd1770. A clean copy.

FOREIGN OFFICE. REPORT FOR THE HALF-YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1903, ON THE COUNTRY PRODUCE TRAFFIC ON THE UGANDA RAILWAY. London: HMSO, 1904. 16 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. British Parliamentary Paper. Diplomatic & Consular Reports. Misc Series No607.

FINAL REPORT OF THE UGANDA RAILWAY COMMITTEE. London: Houses of Parliament, 1904. 32 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. British Parliamentary Paper. Africa No 11 (1904) Cd2164. A clean copy.

MOLESWORTH. Sir Guilford. REPORT ON THE UGANDA RAILWAY. London: Houses of Parliament, 1904. 36 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. Six maps. British Parliamentary Paper. Africa No 5 (1899). C9331. Molesworth had produced a feasibility report on the Uganda railway in 1891 and here reports comprehensively on its progress & difficulties encountered. A clean copy.

FOREIGN OFFICE. REPORT ON THE CONSTRUCTION AND WORKING OF THE MOMBASA-VICTORIA (UGANDA) RAILWAY AND STEAM-BOAT SERVICE ON LAKE VICTORIA, 1903-1904. London: Houses of Parliament, 1905. 40 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers/ British parliamentary Paper Africa No 16 (1904). Cd2332. A clean copy.

COLONIAL OFFICE. REPORT ON THE WORKING OF THE UGANDA RAILWAY AND THE STEAMBOAT SERVICE ON LAKE VICTORIA, 1904-1905. London: HMSO, 1905. 40 pp. Folio. Paper wrappers. British Parliamentary Paper Cd2716. A clean copy.

$8750USD

20. [West Africa, Photograph Album]

[Photograph Album of 37 Original Photographs of Gabon, Guinea, Sierra Leone & Senegal by an Unidentified Photographer].

ca. 1880-90. Folio. 9 leaves. With 37 original photographs (17 cyanotypes and 20 silver prints), the photographs are on average 13 x 18 cm (5 x 7 inches). Period red gilt tooled half sheep with blue pebbled cloth boards. A very good album.

The strong images of this unusual album containing both portraits and topographical views: ten photos of Dakar (Senegal), five photos of Konakry (Guinea), eight photos of Freetown, Sierra Leone (including a two-part panorama), and fourteen photos of Owendo and Libreville (Gabon). All the images are identified by pencil captions in French. This is a rare early and interesting photo documentation of some the main trading ports in West Africa.

$2750USD

21. Abd-Allatif , Abu Muhammad (1162-1231)

Relation de l'Egypte, par Abd-Allatif, Médecin Arabe de Bagdad; Suivie De divers Extraits d'Ecrivains Orientaux, et d'un Etat des Provinces et des Villages de l'Egypte dans le XIV siècle: Le Tout Traduit Et Enrichi De Notes Historiques Et Critiques, Par M. Silvestre de Sacy. [Abd-Allatif's Account of Egypt].

Paris: l'Imprimerie Impériale, Chez Treuttel et Wuertz, 1810. First Edition. Quarto. xxiv, 752, [1]pp. Period brown elaborately gilt tooled full sheep. Rebacked in period style using the original boards and original label, otherwise a very good copy.

"The Arabic manuscript [of this work] was discovered in 1665 by Edward Pococke the orientalist, and preserved in the Bodleian Library. He then published the Arabic manuscript in the 1680's. His son, Edward Pococke the Younger, translated the work into Latin, though he was only able to publish less than half of his work. Thomas Hunt attempted to publish Pococke's complete translation in 1746, though his attempt was unsuccessful. Pococke's complete Latin translation was eventually published by Professor Joseph White of Oxford in 1800. The work was then translated into French, with valuable notes, by Silvestre de Sacy in 1810.., This work is one of the earliest works on Egyptology. It contains a vivid description of a famine caused, during the author's residence in Egypt, by the Nile failing to overflow its banks. [Abd-Allatif] also wrote detailed descriptions on ancient Egyptian monuments"(Wikipedia); Ibrahim-Hilmy I, p.3.

$2750USD

22. Allen , Captain William (1792-1864)

Small 1841-2 Niger Expedition Collection Including: Original Manuscript Retained Copy of Orders to Lieut. Webb, dated June 29th 1842, Written Aboard "H.M. Steamer Wilberforce, Clarence, Fernando Po.., Signed William Allen, Captain"; [With] Papers Relative to the Expedition to the River Niger; [With] Niger expedition: Return to an address of the Honourable the House of Commons, dated 6 February 1840, for copies or extracts of any correspondence which may have passed between Her Majesty's Secretary of State for the Colonial Department and the Lords Commissioners of Her Majesty's Treasury, relating to an expedition to be sent to the River Niger.

Fernando Po &London: William Clowes, 1840-3. Autograph Manuscript with First Editions. Folio. [4]; [iv], 164; 6 pp. With a large folding outline hand-colored map Papers in original publisher's blue printed wrappers and the whole collection housed in customized made quarter maroon gilt tooled clam shell box with beige cloth boards

 

Allen took part in Lander and Oldfield's expedition to the Niger in 1832, but is best known for his involvement with the expedition sent in 1841 to the Niger under Capt. Trotter, when he commanded the Wilberforce. Although a number of treaties were signed with tribal leaders, the expedition was struck by an epidemic of fever that claimed the lives of many of its crew. Indeed, the prospect of further illness still looms large: "if therefore the slightest symptoms of sickness should breakout among your European party you are on no account to attempt it...".

 

The orders, in the form of a letter, respond to Webb's request to be given temporary command of the Wilberforce, and proceed to 'Model Farm'. The orders prohibit him from proceeding further up river than Rabbah or undertaking any additional exploration. The 1841 expedition to the Niger is renowned for the problems that beset it. The expedition's purpose was to disrupt the slave trade along the river. This set of government papers includes all the correspondence regarding the expedition from its proposal in 1839, to the initial signing of treaties with tribal leaders prohibiting trading in slaves, and to the onset of the fever which claimed so many of the crew. Copies of the treaties signed by Allen are included.

"He took part in the Niger expedition of Richard Lander and Oldfield, 1832; but he was best-known for commanding the steamer Wilberforce in the disastrous Niger expedition of 1841-2. Though Allen could not be blamed for the misfortunes of this expedition, he was on his return placed on half pay" (Oxford DNB). "Trotter and William Allen were about to return to the Niger in the Wilberforce and Soudan, when the government orders arrived to call off the expedition. Junior officer, Lieutenant W. H. Webb, took the Wilberforce back to the Niger-Benue confluence to pick up any survivors. During his 26-day round trip he found the model farm in disarray and decided to abandon it; the first crop had failed and much of the land had been reclaimed by jungle. Of the 145 British who had sailed with the expedition, only forty-nine returned to England" (Howgego, 1800-1850, T18).

$6750USD

23. Arthy , E.

[Original Manuscript] List of Death Among the Late African Company Officers in the Settlements on the Gold Coast from the 1st of January 1812, to 1st of January 1822 Being a Period of Ten Years.

Gold Coast, 1822. 4 pages. Manuscript ca. 34 x 21 cm (13 x 8 inches). Manuscript with tears but no loss of text housed in a blue cloth custom made portfolio with a red gilt morocco cover label. In very good condition.

The author was Assistant Surgeon in the late African Company. The manuscript gives an annual account of the deaths of the officers of the company including their names and then a 1 1/2 page remarks section comparing the mortality of Europeans in the Gold coast and other colonies. "The African Company Establishment when fully appointed consisted of forty-five commissioned and non commissioned European officers but during the period of time stated above, there was not more than thirty-five residing in the Settlements on a yearly average & the deaths among them being five annually on an average..,".

 

"The African Company of Merchants was a Chartered Company in the Gold Coast area of modern Ghana, in the coastal area where the Fante people lived. It was founded in 1752 and replaced the Royal African Company which was dissolved in that year. In 1817 the Company had signed a treaty of friendship that recognized Asante claims to sovereignty over large areas of the coast, including areas claimed by the Fante. The Company was abolished in 1821, as the slave trade had not been suppressed in these privately held areas. Authority over the area was given to Governor Charles MacCarthy, the governor of Sierra Leone, who was subsequently killed in the First Anglo-Asante War" (Wikipedia).

$1750USD

24. Baines , [John] T[homas] (1820-1875)

The Leaping Water or Westernmost Cataract. [Victoria Falls - Zambezi River].

London: Day & Son (Limited), October 4th, 1865. ca.44 x 28 cm (17 x 11 inches). Colored lithograph drawn by T. Baines and Lithographed by T. Picken. This wide margined lithograph is a very good copy.

Plate #3 from Baines, Thomas: The Victoria Falls Zambesi River sketched on the spot (during the journey of J.Chapman & T.Baines). London: Day & Son, Limited, 1865. "These images stand as monuments to both the golden age of the British lithograph and also of African exploration. Frank R. Bradlow, writing in Africana Notes and News (June 1991, vol.29 no.6) notes that Baines' ''superb paintings ... Convey as much as is humanly possible. His evocative and accurate portrayals are even today regarded as the finest artistic portrayals of ... [the Falls]'' (Bloomsbury Auctions).

 

"In 1861 [Baines] joined James Chapman on an expedition from the south-west coast of Africa to the Victoria Falls; he made a complete route survey, having been taught how to use surveying and astronomical instruments by Sir Thomas Maclear, astronomer royal at the Cape. He also collected scientific information and botanical specimens, the latter now at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and made many sketches and paintings, which were published as coloured lithographs in (1865)" (Oxford DNB).

$1250USD

25. Baker , Sir Samuel White (1821-1893) & Lady Florence (1841-1916)

[A Small Collection Relating to Sir Samuel White Baker Including: an Autograph Letter Signed "Sam W Baker" to his publisher "Mr. Macmillan" referring to Macmillan's negotiations with Hachette for French translations of two of his books and selecting The Albert N'Yanza Great Basin Of The Nile, And Exploration Of The Nile Sources (first published 1866) to be sent first to the Emperor. Two light hinge marks otherwise fine. Athenaeum Club 20 March [watermark 1867]. "If both the books are translated into French I should present a copy of each to the Emperor - but I will send the Albert N'yanza first in ‘avant courir' the moment it is bound."

[With] Autograph Letter Signed "Florence Baker" to "Mrs. Plumptre" taking leave explaining this is the last day before her travels begin. Traces of mounting along centre fold. Sandford Orleigh 20 November 1878. The uncommon autograph of Lady Florence Baker, wife of the explorer Sir Samuel Baker, famous for his African discoveries. "We leave for London tomorrow & the following Thursday start for Constantinople. We shall be very glad to escape a winter in England - it is beginning very early this year."

[With] A ca. 1880 Cabinet Photograph of Samuel White Baker by H. J. Whitlock Birmingham mounted with a clipped signature of "Sam W Baker" matted below].

1867-1880. Octavo. Each 4 pages. Letters 18 x 11cm & 15 x 10 cm and cabinet photo 12 x 8 cm respectively. The letters are clearly legible and all the items are in fine condition.

While in the Danube town of Widden Baker "attended a slave auction where he unexpectedly bought a young woman named Florence Barbara Maria Finnian von Sass, [who later became Lady Florence Baker].

During his time in eastern Europe and Asia Minor, Baker became increasingly intrigued by the prospect of exploring Africa. After John Hanning Speke and James Augustus Grant departed from Bagamoyo for Lake Victoria and the White Nile on 2 October 1860, Baker decided to launch his own expedition to discover the sources of the Nile River. He then planned to link up with Speke and Grant. The journey, which ultimately would take four and a half years, would bring him fame and fortune. More importantly, the expedition enabled Baker and Florence, who were not married [at the time], to escape the harsh moral strictures of Victorian England..,

 

The discovery of the Albert Nyanza marked the pinnacle of Baker's career as an African explorer in so far as it helped to resolve the mystery of the source of the Nile. Soon after his return to England in 1865 he learned that he had been awarded the Royal Geographical Society's prestigious gold medal for his work in Africa. Numerous other awards soon followed. In August 1866 Baker received a knighthood; in the same year he became an honorary MA of Cambridge, and also published his account of the expedition, entitled The Albert Ny'anza, Great Basin of the Nile, and Explorations of the Nile Sources. The work, which went through several editions, remains one of the most important narratives of African exploration during the Victorian era. In 1867 the Paris Geographical Society conferred on him its grande médaille d'or, and on 3 June 1869 he was elected FRS. He also became an honorary member of the geographical societies of Paris, Berlin, Italy, and the United States. For the next few years Baker and his wife lived at Hedenham Hall, Norfolk. It was at this manor house that he wrote The Nile Tributaries of Abyssinia, and the Sword Hunters of the Hamran Arabs, and a boys' adventure story, Cast up by the Sea, which were published in 1867 and 1868 respectively" (Oxford DNB); (Howgego, Continental Exploration 1800-1850, B10).

$2750USD

26. Barbot , John (1655-1712)

A Description of the Coasts of North and South Guinea; and of Ethiopia Inferior, Vulgarly Angola; Being a New and Accurate Account of the Western Maritime Countries of Africa. In Six Books. Containing a Geographical, Political, and Natural History of the Kingdoms; Provinces, Common-Wealths. Territories and Islands Belonging to it. Their Product, Inhabitants, Manners, Languages, Trade, Wars, Policy and Religion. With a full Account of all the European Settlements; Their Rise, Progress and Present Condition; Their Commerce, and Measures for Improving the Several Branches of the Guinea and Angola Trade. Also of Trade-Winds, Breezes, Tornadoes, Harmatans, Tides and Currents, & c. And a New Relation of the Province of Guiana, and of the Great Rivers of Amazons and Oronoque in South-America. With an Appendix; Being a General Account of the First Discoveries of America in the Fourteenth Century, and some Observations Thereon. And a Geographical, Political, and Natural History of the Antilles-Islands, in the North-Sea of America.

London: Henry Lintot and John Osborn, 1732. First Edition. Folio. [ii],1-588, 589-668 pp. With 50 copper engraved maps and plates, many folding. Handsome period style brown gilt tooled half calf with marbled boards, raised bands and a red gilt morocco label. A very good copy.

 

"Barbot, a merchant and voyager of La Rochelle, entered the Compangnie royale d'Afrique for which he became Agent-General in the Guinea region. Following the Edict of Nantes, he emigrated to England in 1686, and continued trading in West Africa, in particular in the Congo and Angola. His text, which includes detailed accounts of the slaving forts of Goree, Sierra Leone, the Guinea Coast and elsewhere, also appeared as volume V of the Churchill voyages series" (Sothebys). "A very full generalized account is given of those portions of Africa mentioned.., He was an assiduous collector of information of the useful kind. He was agent-general of the Royal Company of Africa and Islands at Paris" (Cox I p.373); Jean Barbot was a "French commercial agent who accompanied slaving voyages to West Africa in 1678-79 and 1681-82.., During the period 1683-88 he wrote a significant account of West Africa, which was to become a major sourcebook for the region of that time" (Howgego, B20).

$3750USD

27. Barnim , Freiherrn Adalbert von (1841-1860)

[Tinted Lithograph] Felsentempel bei Abu-Simbil. Temples de Abou-Simbil. Rock-Temple of Aboo-Simbel.

[Berlin]: [Reimer], [1863]. 30 x 39 cm (12 x 15.5 inches). Tinted lithograph after original sketches by Freiherrn Adalbert von Barnim and drawn by Bellermann. A very good wide margined tinted lithograph. Edges with minor tears not affecting printed surface.

From the rare work "Reise des Freiherrn Adalbert von Barnim durch Nord-Ost-Afrika in den Jahren 1859 und 1860." Aldalbert, Baron von Barnim and his doctor, Hartmann, travelled through Egypt, the Sudan and Nubia, although Barnim died, aged nineteen, on the return journey. "The party ascended the Nile into the Sudan, explored from Old Dongola to Khartoum, then proceeded up the Blue Nile as far as Fazogli on the border of Ethiopia. Von Barnim died during the expedition on 12.7.[18]60 at Roseres but Hartmann returned to Germany and in 1863 published an account of the expedition"(Howgego, Continental Exploration 1850-1940, B17).

$750USD

28. Barth , Heinrich (1821-1865)

Reisen und Entdeckungen in Nord- und Central-Afrika in den Jahren 1849-1855. [Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa; Being a Journal of an Expedition Undertaken Under the Auspices of H.B.M.'s Government in the Years 1849-1855].

Gotha: Perthes, 1859-1860. Second German Edition in Parts. Octavo, 12parts in 9 vols. [iv], 508; [iv], 456 pp. With a steel engraved portrait frontispiece, four tinted lithographs on plates and a large colored folding map. Publishers gray printed wrappers housed in a maroon gilt tooled quarter morocco box. A very good set.

 

Rare original parts of the second German edition. "Arriving in Tripoli on January 18, 1850, Barth was to remain in Africa for more than 5 years and to travel a total distance of over 10,000 miles, usually without any European companions and with little cash. After he reached the Bornu capital, Kukawa, on April 2, 1850, he used that city as a base while he made four exploratory journeys around Lake Chad. During a trip south to Yola, he became the first European to see and explore the upper waters of the Benue River, which he showed had no direct connection with Lake Chad" (Delpar, p.75). Barth "entered Timbuktu, only the third European of the modern era to do so, disguised as a Muslim merchant, and in return for sumptuous gifts acquired the protection of a rich muslim, Sheikh el-Bakay. Barth remained in Timbuktu for seven months, constantly under suspicion and fearing for his life, which was saved only through his friendship with the sheikh. When permission to leave the city was eventually granted, he departed Timbuktu on 19.4.54 in the company of a Tuareg escort and followed the Niger" (Howgego, Continental Exploration, 1850-1940, B18).

$1250USD

29. Barth , Heinrich (1821-1865)

Barth's African Sketches.

[London], ca. 1860. First Edition. Oblong Octavo. With 36 tinted lithographic plates by M. & N. Hanhart, from drawings by J.M. Bernatz after sketches by Barth. Original publishers' cloth-backed yellow paper-covered boards, titled in black on upper cover 'Barth's African Sketches.' Covers mildly soiled, otherwise a very good copy.

A very rare work with only one copy found in Worldcat. "A rare separately published selection.., taken from the 60 plates published with the 5-volume work - a comparison of the two issues of the plates show a marked colour variation" (Christies). "Arriving in Tripoli on January 18, 1850, Barth was to remain in Africa for more than 5 years and to travel a total distance of over 10,000 miles, usually without any European companions and with little cash. After he reached the Bornu capital, Kukawa, on April 2, 1850, he used that city as a base while he made four exploratory journeys around Lake Chad. During a trip south to Yola, he became the first European to see and explore the upper waters of the Benue River, which he showed had no direct connection with Lake Chad" (Delpar, p.75). Barth "entered Timbuktu, only the third European of the modern era to do so, disguised as a Muslim merchant, and in return for sumptuous gifts acquired the protection of a rich Muslim, Sheikh el-Bakay. Barth remained in Timbuktu for seven months, constantly under suspicion and fearing for his life, which was saved only through his friendship with the sheikh. When permission to leave the city was eventually granted, he departed Timbuktu on 19.4.54 in the company of a Tuareg escort and followed the Niger"( Howgego, Continental Exploration, 1850-1940, B18).

$2250USD

30. Boilat , P. D[avid], l'Abbe (1814-1901)

Esquisses Se´ne´galaises, Physionomie du Pays, Peuplades, Commerce, Religions, Passe´ et Avenir, Re´cits et Le´gendes. Atlas Volume [Senegalese Sketches: Face Of The Country, Tribe, Trade, Religions, Past And Future, Stories And Legends].

Paris: P. Bertrand, 1853. First Edition. Quarto. 31 pp. With 24 beautifully hand colored lithographs of the People of Senegal with text descriptions of the plates. Period light brown gilt tooled quarter calf with marbled boards and maroon gilt morocco labels. Front hinge tender, otherwise a very good copy.

 

Born April 23, 1814 in Saint-Louis (Senegal) to a French father and a Senegalese mother, he was sent for training in France to prepare to become a teacher in Senegal. David Boilat is considered one of the first Senegalese writers to write on the manners and customs of his country. His dual culture and knowledge of local languages makes this a very important work on Senegal. The lithographs of Senegalese costumes are beautifully hand colored in this atlas volume. Hess & Coger 7280.

$5750USD

31. Bosman , William (born 1672)

A New and Accurate Description of the Coast of Guinea, Divided into the Gold, the Slave and the Ivory Coasts. Containing a Geographical, Political and Natural History of the Kingdoms and Countries: With a Particular Account of the Rise, Progress and Present Condition of all the European Settlements upon that Coast; and the Just Measures for Improving the several Branches of the Guinea Trade.

London: J. Knapton et al., 1721. Second Edition. Octavo. viii, 456, [16] pp. With a copper engraved folding map and seven copper engraved plates. Period style brown gilt tooled quarter calf with marbled boards and black morocco gilt label. Text and plates mildly browned, otherwise a very good copy.

 

"Bosman was the chief factor for the Dutch at the Castle of St. George d'Elmina. He gives an omnibus type of description" (Cox I p.368); Bosman was "an employee of the Dutch East India Company and chief Dutch factor at the castle of Elmina. He stayed on the coast for fourteen years, his Voyage de Guinee, published in 1704, being regarded as the first authoritative and detailed account of the West Coast of Africa. It is a major source for the Dutch slave trade during the second half of the Seventeenth century, and provides an interesting picture of international rivalry, current trade, and the wretched depraved existence of the European factors stationed permanently on the coast" (Howgego, F58); "An account of Dutch commercial activities in West Africa in the form of letters from Bosman to D. Havart in Rotterdam. Bosman was an employee of the Dutch West India Company" (Bell, B396).

$1500USD

32. Botelho , Sebastião Xavier (1768-1840)

Memoria Estatistica Sobre os Dominios Portugueses na Africa Oriental [Historical Statistics of the Portuguese Dominions in Eastern Africa].

Lisbon: na Typ. De José Baptista Morando, 1835. First Edition. Octavo. 400, [1], [1] pp. With six folding lithographed maps and plans. Handsome period style brown gilt tooled quarter sheep with marbled boards. With an un-obtrusive library marking, otherwise a near fine copy.

 

This is an important work on Portuguese East Africa and the surrounding territory, with chapters on the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, and Mozambique. Botelho gives much information on burial rites, succession of tribal chiefs, marriage customs, and government and agricultural products etc. of these areas. "The author of this book was governor and captain-general of Mozambique from the 20th of January 1825 to the 21st of August 1829" (Mendelssohn I p.158).

$675USD

33. Bowdich , Thomas Edward (1791-1824)

Excursions in Madeira and Porto Santo, During the Autumn of 1823, While on his Third Voyage to Africa.

London: George B. Whittaker, 1825. First Edition. Quarto. xii, 278 pp. With 22 lithographs on plates, four hand-colored, three folding. Period brown gilt tooled half calf with red gilt morocco label. Rebacked in style using original boards, with unobtrusive library blind stamp on title, otherwise a near fine copy.

"Bowdich died aged thirty-three on this, his third voyage to Africa, and his last work was not only edited but completed by his wife, Sarah, who added three sections, 'a narrative of the continuance of the voyage to its completion,' 'a description of the English settlements on the River Gambia,' and an 'appendix, containing zoological and botanical descriptions, and translations from the Arabic.' Sarah Bowdich also contributed the drawings for the work, the plates including portraits of local people, views and zoological figures" (Christies).

 

"Bowdich and his wife.., embarked upon a second African expedition, and in August 1822 they sailed from Le Havre to Lisbon..., They continued to Madeira where they remained for some months, collecting geological, geographical, and botanical information and then travelled to the Gambia, where Bowdich began a trigonometrical survey of the river. His enthusiasm for scientific observation was said to have cost him his life there, for while taking astronomical observations at night he caught cold, which was followed by fever, resulting in his death, at the early age of thirty-three, on 10 January 1824. The published account of his last expedition was edited and illustrated by his wife" (Oxford DNB); Bowdich was appointed by the African Company to lead a mission to Ashanti in 1815. He subsequently spent much time in Africa before his death at the mouth of the Gambia" (Howgego 1800-1850, C19); Abbey Travel 190; Hess & Coger 5414.

$2500USD

34. Burdo , Adolphe [Marie Louis]

The Niger and the Benueh; Travels in Central Africa.

London: Richard Bentley & Son, 1880. First Edition. Octavo. vii, [i], 277 pp. With a frontispiece and twelve other wood engravings on plates, four folding (mounted on linen). Period maroon gilt tooled half morocco with green cloth boards. Some mild foxing otherwise a very good copy.

 

Burdo, "a member of the Belgian Geographical Society, made his way in the late 1870's from Dakar through West Africa, visiting Gambia, Accra and the Niger and Benue rivers. His narrative describes slave markets, cannibals, human sacrifices and Africa kings, and has much about local customs and peoples, nature, activities and hunting" (Howgego, Continental Exploration 1850-1940, A4); Hess & Coger 6983.

$575USD

35. Caillie , Rene (1799-1838)

Journal d'un voyage a Temboctou et a Jenne, dans l'Afrique centrale, precede d'observations faites chez les maures Braknas, les Nalous et d'autres peuples; pendant les annees 1824-28. [Travels Through Central Africa to Timbuctoo; and Across the Great Desert, to Morocco, Performed in the Years 1824-1828].

Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1830. First Edition. 3 vols. Octavo & Folio Atlas. xii, 475; [iv], 426; [iv], 404 +[2] pp. With an aquatint portrait frontispiece, a double page view of Timbuctoo, 4 other plates, and a large folding map. Handsome period style brown gilt tooled quarter sheep with marbled boards, text housed in a matching slip case. A very good set.

 

"Caillie began his quest for Timbuctoo in March 1827 at the mouth of the Rio Nunez, in what is now Guinea, and reached the Niger at Kouroussa in June. To disarm suspicion along the way, he claimed to be an Egyptian of Arab parentage who had been taken to France as a youngster and was now returning to the land of his birth. From August 3, 1827, until January 9, 1828, he was forced to remain at Tieme, being felled first by foot trouble and then by a bout with scurvy. He reached Timbuctoo on April 20, 1828, and stayed there until May 4, thereby becoming the second European to visit the city of his own volition and the first to survive the journey" (Delpar p.95).

"Caillie reached Kabara, the port of Timbuktu, on 19.4.28, and accompanied Sidi-Abdallahi, the agent of the sheikh of Djenne, into Timbuktu later that day. Caillie was sorely disappointed with what he saw: a dreary, sleepy little town on the edge of the desert, having none of the excitement or commerce that its fame had suggested. The more important buildings had fallen into disrepair and the population lived perpetually in fear of Tuareg attack. Caillie remained only two weeks in Timbuktu, and on 4.5.28, anxious to depart, joined a caravan of 1400 camels heading for Morocco" (Howgego 1800-1850 C2).

$5250USD

36. Caillie , Rene (1799-1838)

Travels Through Central Africa to Timbuctoo; and Across the Great Desert, to Morocco, Performed in the Years 1824-1828.

London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1830. First English Edition. Octavo, 2 vols. viii, 475; xiv, 501 pp. With an aquatint portrait frontispiece, a double page view of Timbuctoo, 4 other plates, and 2 large folding maps. Period style brown gilt tooled quarter calf with blue papered boards. Plates with a small private library mark, new end-papers, otherwise a very good set.

First English edition of Caillie's travel to Timbuctoo (Howgego 1800-1850 C2.

$1950USD

37. Campbell , Rev. John (1766-1840)

Travels in South Africa, Undertaken at the Request of the London Missionary Society; Being a Narrative of a Second Journey in the Interior of that Country.

London: London Missionary Society, 1822. First Edition. Octavo, 2 vols. xii, 322; 384 pp. With two hand-colored aquatint frontispieces, ten other hand-coloured aquatints and a folding hand colored map. Handsome period brown gilt tooled polished full calf with red gilt morocco labels. Minor repair to map, otherwise a very good set.

"The second journey to the interior was started on January 18, 1820, and in the course of it visits were paid to Lattakoo (Kuruman), Mashow, and Griqua Town, the author penetrating to a city then named Kureechane, the site of which would appear to have been somewhere near the Waterberg mountains in the Transvaal. The inhabitants consisted of Bushmen, Corannas, and Bechuanas, and a map is provided, but it does not even faintly resemble a modern publication, and the river courses are not correctly traced. There are some particulars respecting what is designated the "Great Southern Zahara", most of which seems to have been comprised in what is now known as German South-West Africa; and there is an account of the natives, among whom there seems to have been constant friction" (Mendelssohn I, p.255). Appendices are also included, one of which deals with Bechuana tales.

 

"Africa had fascinated Campbell since his youth, and in 1812 the LMS sent him there to restore good relations between the missionaries and the governor, Sir John Cradock (in which he was successful), and to survey the work of the society. He covered over 5000 kilometres by ox-wagon, travelling where few Europeans had gone before. North of the Orange River, he met the Griqua of Adam Kok, with their missionary John Anderson. He was so impressed with this nascent Christian state that, on his return to London, he had minted for it a set of decimal coins, the first autonomous coinage in southern Africa. Back in London in 1814 Campbell wrote his Travels in South Africa, which was published the next year and rapidly went through three editions. Very soon after settling back into his pastoral and editorial work he was called again to go to Africa. In 1819 he and a fellow director of the LMS, John Philip, were sent to reorganize the work of the society in South Africa; Philip was to stay on as resident director after he and Campbell had completed their work. On his return to London, Campbell published, in 1822, two new volumes of Travels in Africa, which contained one of the most accurate maps of southern Africa yet produced" (Oxford DNB). "Campbell arrived at a range where a number of tracks converged to form a single highway. A little to the south of the range one of Campbell's party unwittingly discovered one of the sources of the Limpopo" (Howgego 1800-1850, C10); Abbey Travel 328; Tooley 127; Work, p.203.

$975USD

38. Capello , H[ermenegildo] (1841-1917) & Ivens, R[oberto] (1850-1898)

De Benguella a´s terras de Ja´cca descripc¸a~o de una viagem na Africa central e occidental Comprehendendo narraco~es, aventuras e estudos importantes sobre as cabeceiras dos rios Cu-nene, Cu-bango, Lu-ando, Cu-anza e Cu-ango, e de grande parte do curso dos dois ultimos; alem da descoberta dos rios Hamba, Canali, Sussa e Cu-gho, e larga noticia sobre as terras de Quiteca N'bungo, Sosso, Futa e Ia´cca por H. Capello e R. Ivens : Expedic¸a~o organisada nos annos de 1877 - 1880. [From Benguella to the Territory of Yacca. Description of a journey into central and west Africa. Comprising narratives, adventures, and important surveys of the sources of the River Cunene, Cubango, Luando, Cuanza and Cunago, and of great part of the course of the two latter; together with the discovery of the River Hamba, Cauali, Sussa, and Cugho, and a detailed account of the territories of Quiteca N'bungo, sosso, Futa, and Yacca ... Expedition organized in the years 1877-1880].

Lisboa: Imprenta Nacional, 1881. First Edition. Large Octavo, 2 vols. xviii, 379; xii, 391 +[24] pp. With many illustrations and maps on plates and in text. Original publishers period brown pictorial gilt cloth. Recased, otherwise a very good set.

 

The expedition was part of the attempt by Portugal to establish sovereignty over a corridor linking the territories of Angola and Mozambique. It forms a companion to the account of Serpa Pinto, who set out on his own expedition after parting in disagreement with Capello and Ivens. This present account being an important survey of the sources of the Rivers Cunene, Cubango, Luando, Cuanza, and Cuango, and also discussing the discovery of the River Hamba, Cauali, Sussa, and Cugho, as well as giving a detailed account of the Territories of Quiteca N'bungo, Sosso, Futa, and Yacca. Capello "was selected to direct a scientific expedition to carry out a survey of the relationship betwenn the watersheds of the Congo and Zambezi rivers and to determine the course of the major tributaries" (Howgego, Continental Exploration 1850-1940, C8).

$1250USD

39. Cooke , Lt-Col A C (compiler at the Topographical & Statistical Department of the War Office)

Routes in Abyssinia.

London: HMSO, 1867. First Edition With a Signed Letter by Colonel Hozier. Folio. [iv], 252 pp. With a large folding map, coloured in outline (by E G Ravenstein), smaller folding map by Keith Johnstone) Period style navy gilt tooled half straight-grained morocco with navy cloth boards. A very good copy.

 

A particularly interesting work produced at the time of the Abyssinian Campaign reviewing the different routes of exploration taken up to that date in Abyssinia, beginning with the 1541 Portuguese Expedition and continuing with the routes taken by Salt, Pearce, Ferret et Galinier, Mansfield Parkyn, Munzinger, Merewether, Harris, D'Hericourt, Isenberg & Krapf, Coffin, Hamilton, Bruce, Beke, Combes & Tamisler, Mendez, Lefebvre, and Steudner. The last twenty pages describe and discuss the Line of Advance of the British Expedition. Also, a detailed description of Abyssinia is given and the large folding map is most likely the most detailed and accurate map of the country to that date.

 

With an Autograph Letter Signed ‘Colonel Sir Henry Montague Hozier' to Mr. Carruthers (William Carruthers botanist and keeper of the Botanical Department at the Natural History Museum from 1871 to 1895) looking forward to visiting the museum at South Kensington, dated the Netherton Meigle 26 September no year given. Colonel Sir Henry Montague Hozier (1838-1907) was author of 'The British Expedition to Abyssinia'. "While serving as assistant military secretary to Lord Napier of Magdala on the Abyssinian expedition (1867), [Hozier] was again engaged by The Times as a war correspondent" (Oxford DNB).

$2250USD

40. Copland , Samuel

A History of the Island of Madagascar, Comprising a Political Account of the Island, the Religion, Manners, and Customs of Its Inhabitants, and Its Natural Productions; With an Appendix Containing a History of the Several Attempts to Introduce Christianity into the Island.

London: Burton and Smith, 1822. First Edition. Octavo. xv, 369, [2] pp. With an engraved folding frontispiece map. Period brown gilt tooled half calf with marbled boards. Extremities mildly worn, and title page and back of map with library marking, otherwise a very good copy.

 

Copland describes the geography, provinces, native manners and customs, class system, natural and man made productions, and the history of Madagascar. This work was written during the reign of Radama I, who "pursued a policy of modernization along Western lines, and for some years a British envoy, James Hastie resided at Radama's court and exercised a powerful influence over the king. Hastie had been sent by the British government to the court of Imperina to negotiate an anti-slavery treaty, arriving ain Antananarivo in 1817" (Howgego, 1800-1850, M5); Grandidier I 1097; Hess & Coger 2699.

$975USD

41. Cordoba , Antonio Fernandez de

Copia de vna [sic] del Padre Antonio Fernandez Superior de las casas que la Compan~ia de Iesus tiene en el Imperio de Etiopia, escrita en Dancas Corte del Emperador de los Abexinos en 11 de Iunio de 626 a su Procurador en esta Corte, del recibimiento que aquel Emperador hizo al Patriarca Catolico, y de la reduccio´ de aquel Imperio a la Iglesia Romana [Copy of a Letter from Father Antonio Fernandes About Ethiopia].

Madrid: por la viuda de Luis Sanchez, 1627. First Edition. Quarto. 2 leaves. Handsome early 20th century dark brown gilt tooled full morocco. Back cover with strip of leather missing of left bottom corner, otherwise a good copy.

 

Very Rare as only one copy of the first edition found in Worldcat. "In 1613 the emperor Susenyos, on the advice of Pedro Paez, commissioned an embassy to the Pope and the King of Spain. The expedition was to travel not via Massawa, which was threatened by the Turks, but by a southerly overland route to Mogadishu.., Fernandes was appointed to lead the delegation and left Dankaz (to the north of Lake Tana) in February 1613, travelling to the west of the lake and then southward through the land of the Gongas, reaching the Blue Nile and Mina." (Howgego F19).

$2250USD

42. Corry , J[oseph]

The Colony of Sierra Leone, A Bearing S.E. By E. Distant 3 Miles, and the Bananas, Bearing N.W. By W. Distant 2 Leagues.

London: G. & W. Nicol, Aug. 1, 1807. 20 x 45 cm (8 x 17.5 inches). Handcolored aquatint drawn by R Cocking from a sketch by J. Corry and engraved by I. C. Stadler. Margins with chips but not affecting the printed surface, otherwise a good copy.

 

Plate #3 from Joseph Corry's Observations upon the Windward Coast of Africa, the religion, character, customs, &c. of the natives; with a system upon which they may be civilized, and a system upon which they may be civilized, and a knowledge attained of the interior of this extraordinary quarter of the globe; and upon the natural and commercial resources of the country made in the years 1805 and 1806... With an appendix containing a letter to Lord Howick, on the most simple and effectual means of abolishing the slave trade. London: W. Bulmer & Co. for G. & W. Nicol and James Asperne, 1807. Abbey Travel 278.

$475USD

43. Davidson , John (1797-1836)

Notes Taken During Travels in Africa by the late John Davidson, F.R.S. F.S.A., &c.

London: Printed by J.L. Cox and Sons, 1839. First Edition. Quarto. [viii], 218 pp. With a frontispiece and two other lithographed plates. Original dark blue-green publishers gilt cloth. Lacking free front endpaper, otherwise a near fine copy.

Printed for Private Circulation only, this is an account on an unsuccessful attempt to reach Timbuktu. Davidson was murdered in the desert by an Arab band. The book includes his travel diary, his correspondence to British officials and his family, and an account of his death and other documents relating to his travel.

 

Davidson "went first to Naples in 1827 and thence through much of central Europe. He went to Egypt at the end of 1829, visited the pyramids, and passed overland to Quseir on the Red Sea coast where he embarked for India on his way to China and Persia. An attack of cholera, however, drove him back to Quseir. He made an excursion through Arabia, and visited Palestine, Syria, the Greek Isles, Athens, and Constantinople, collecting much geographical information, which he afterwards communicated in papers read at the meetings of the Royal Society and the Royal Institution of London. In 1831 he went to America, travelling in the United States, and in Spanish America where he visited and surveyed the pyramids of Choluteca; he then settled down for a time to the study of Egyptology. On 13 July 1833 he delivered an address on embalming at the Royal Institution, when he unrolled a mummy in the presence of a deeply interested audience; he later published a pamphlet describing the occasion. He was elected a fellow of the Royal Society in 1835.

His craving for travel was, however, irresistible. He decided to explore in Africa, planning to go by way of Fez and, after examining the southern slopes of the Atlas Mountains, to Nigritia and across the Sahara to Timbuktu. He left England in September 1835, accompanied only by a black companion, Edward Donnelan or Abú Bekr. From Gibraltar he crossed the straits into Morocco, where his medical knowledge was so highly valued by the sultan that he had great difficulty in obtaining permission to depart. He estimated that he treated twelve hundred patients in Morocco, and he also gave instruction to local physicians. When leaving he was obliged to plead that his stock of medicine was exhausted, and at his request a medicine chest was forwarded to the sultan from England. He started for the Sahara at the end of November 1836 after numerous delays, but while stopping at a watering-place called Swekeza he was robbed and murdered on 17 or 18 December 1836 by a party from the tribe El Harib, who are thought to have been bribed by the merchants of Tafilet to seize the traveller and his goods. The findings of his travels were recorded in letters, published later in the Journal of the Royal Geographical Society (1836 and 1837)"(Oxford DNB).

Davidson "decided that his crowning achievement would be to a visit to Timbuktu, and for the journey he solicited the support of a number of influential friends, including Lord Palmerston, at that time Foreign Secretary.., The merchants of the oases of Tafilet, which rivalled Nun as the terminus for the trans-Saharan caravans, became suspicious of Davidson's intentions, believing that he would open up a European trade route from the coast to Timbuktu. Undeterred, even by a letter from the Royal Geographical Society begging them not to proceed, Davidson and Donellan set out with a caravan heading for Taoudenni to buy salt. In December 1836, six weeks out of Nun, Davidson was attacked and robbed, and a few days later, while in the region of Tindouf, was shot dead and his remaining possessions stolen. Reports of his death received by the various consuls on the coast pointed the finger of guilt at the Tafilet merchants. Edward Donellan continued with the caravan to Timbuktu and was never heard of again. Davidson's letters and most of his journal found their way back to Britain" (Howgego 1800-1850, D4).

$3250USD

44. De Filippi , Filippo [H.R.H. Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of the Abruzzi] (1873-1933)

Il Ruwenzori. Viaggio Di Esplorazione e Prime Ascensioni Delle Piu Alte Vette Nella Catena Nevosa Situata Fra I Grandi Laghi Equatoriali Dell' Africa Centrale [With] Il Ruwenzori Parte Scientifica: Geologia, Petrografia, E Mineralogia. [With] Camerano, Lorenzo; Estratto Dal Volume 1 Dell'Opera Il Ruwenzore Relazione Scientifische (five parts in one), Presentation Copy from the Author to the last King of Italy, Victtorio Emanuele III, with the King's book plate. [Ruwenzori: An Account of the Expedition of H.R.H. Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoy, Duke of the Abruzzi].

 

Milano: Ulrico Hoepli, 1908-9. First Editions. Quarto, 3 vols. xii, 360; xix, [iv], 286; 66, 22, 10, 6, 35 pp. With a color frontispiece, 25 photogravures and five panoramas (four folding) by Vittorio Sella, numerous black & white illustrations from photographs, two folding diagrams, six folding maps including five in color, and 54 (plates 11 and 12 of the third part not bound in) illustrations on plates. Original blue cloth. Third volume period light brown gilt tooled quarter calf with marbled boards. The first two volumes housed in a matching slipcase. A very good set.

 

"An account of the expedition of H.R.H. Prince Luigi Amadeo of Savoy, Duke of the Abruzzi. Classic reference work on this tropical range; the expedition succeeded in climbing all the principal peaks" (Neate F27). The second of the Duke's major expeditions. The Ruwenzori, Ptolemy's 'Mountain of the Moon', had never been seriously attempted before this remarkable expedition made the first ascents of this mountain group in central Africa between Lake Albert and Lake Edward on the boundary between Uganda and Zaire. With the rare second and third volumes of scientific data (Howgego, Continental Exploration 1850-1940, F11).

$2250USD

45. Durand , Jean-Baptiste-Léonard (1742-1812)

Voyage au Sénégal, ou mémoires historiques, philosophiques et politiques sur les découvertes, les établissemens et le commerce des Européens dans les mers de l'Océan atlantique, depuis le Cap-Blanc jusqu'à la rivière de Serre-Lionne inclusivement ; suivis de la relation d'un voyage par terre de l'île Saint-Louis à Galam, et du texte arabe de trois traités de commerce faits par l'auteur avec les princes de pays. [Voyage to Senegal..,].

Paris: Chez H. Agasse, An X, [1802]. Second Edition. Text 8vo,2 vols & Quarto Atlas. lvi, 359, [1]; 383, [1];67 pp. Atlas with a copper engraved portrait frontispiece, forty-three numbered engraved plates, including sixteen folding maps. Handsome period brown gilt tooled mottled full (text) & half (atlas) calf. Atlas with marbled boards. One text volume rebacked, otherwise a very good set.

 

In 1785 Durand was appointed head of the Third Company of Senegal on the Isle of St. Louis where he was a director between 1785-86. He then made a trip to Galam and concluded several treaties with the Moors, to promote the gum trade. A Voyage to Senegal was inspired by the works of Father Labat and other writers, and includes a description of the journey of Mr. Rubault, who went to Galam and much information on the history, trade and commerce of the western African coast from Cape Blanc to the Sierra Leone River, which was the heart of the African slave trade in the 18th century. The work contains a very detailed map of the region and also engravings of local life, fauna and flora.

"During the eighteenth century the factories and settlements on the coast of Senegal had changed hands several times between the British and the French. The island of Goree had been returned to the French in 1763 at the conclusion of the Seven Years War, and 1779 Louis Philippe Rigaud, marquis de Vaudreuil, had recovered Saint Louis" (Howgego 1800-1850, W23); Wikipedia.

$3750USD

46. Durand , Paul (1806-1882)

Souvenir de l'Isle de Philae [Watercolor of Island of Philae]; [With Manuscript Notes on the Ancient Egyptian Temple Complex].

Island of Philae, Egypt, January 1843. ca. 61x32 cm (24 x 12.5 inches). Watercolor in very good condition.

 

Large folio watercolor plan of the island of Philae assembled from three sheets signed Paul Durand. Archaeological remains are described with handwritten comments. Paul Durand was a physician and archaeologist, author of works on early Christian iconography, he made several trips to Egypt, including one with Ampère, the son of scientist Andre Ampere, whose wanted to verify the information collected by Champollion. "Philae is an island in the Nile River and the previous site of an Ancient Egyptian temple complex in southern Egypt. The complex was dismantled and relocated to a nearby island during a UNESCO project started because of the construction of the Aswan Dam, after the site was partly flooded by the earlier Aswan Low Dam for half a century" (Wikipedia).

$2750USD

47. Fox , William

A Brief History of the Wesleyan Missions on The Western Coast of Africa: Including Biographical Sketches of all the Missionaries who have died in that Important Field of Labour: with some Account of the European Settlements, and of the Slave-Trade.

London: Printed for the Author, 1851. First Edition. Octavo. xx, 624, [1] pp. With a folding frontispiece map and six lithographs. Original publishers' brown gilt cloth. Cloth mildly faded and with a couple of minor stains, otherwise a very good copy.

 

Rare work. Fox spent more than ten years as a missionary on the Gambia. This work includes chapters on the African slave trade, Sierra Leone, the Gambia and the Gold Coast. The Slave trade had a devastating effect on this area "as three million slaves may have been taken from this general region [The Gambia] during the three centuries that the transatlantic slave trade was operated.., In 1807, slave trading was abolished throughout the British Empire, and the British tried unsuccessfully to end the slave trade in the Gambia. They established the military post of Bathurst (now Banjul) in 1816. In the ensuing years, Banjul was at times under the jurisdiction of the British Governor General in Sierra Leone. In 1888, The Gambia became a separate colonial entity" (Wikipedia).

$1750USD

48. Grandjean , J. S., Adjutant-General

[Signed Manuscript] Note Sur Les Possessions Francaises En Afrique. [Note on the French Possessions in Africa].

Paris, 1795. Folio. 2 pages. Manuscript approx. 32 x20 cm (12.5 x 8 inches) Manuscript in fine condition and housed in a custom made red gilt tooled quarter morocco portfolio.

Manuscript Note Signed by the Adjutant-General J.S. Grandjean, Dated Paris [February 7, 1795]. Summary of main points of a report submitted by Grandjean on his return from Gorée in 1766 to minister Choiseul. This report discusses the gold mines at Galam (Senegal), gum arabic that should be shared with the Dutch, and one resistant to wood found on the Island of Boulam.

 

"The island of Gorée was one of the first places in Africa to be settled by Europeans.., After the French gained control in 1677, the island remained continuously French until 1960.., Gorée was principally a trading post, administratively attached to Saint-Louis, capital of the Colony of Senegal. Apart from slaves, beeswax, hides and grain were also traded..., Étienne-François, comte de Stainville, duc de Choiseul (1719-1785) was a French military officer, diplomat and statesman. Between 1758 and 1761, and 1766 and 1770, he was Foreign Minister of France and had a strong influence on France's global strategy throughout the period. He is closely associated with France's defeat in the Seven Years War and subsequent efforts to rebuild French prestige" (Wikipedia).

$2250USD

49. Grandpré , L[ouis Marie Joseph Ohier Comte de] (1761-1846)

Voyage dans l'Inde et au Bengale, fait dans les anne´es 1789 et 1790: Contenant la description des i^les Se´chelles et de Trinquemalay, des de´tails sur le caracte`re et les arts industrieux des peuples de l'Inde, la description de quelques pratiques religieuses des habitans du Bengale : suivi d'un voyage fait dans la mer rouge, contenant la description de Moka, et du commerce des Arabes de l'Ye´men; des de´tails sur leur caracte`re et leurs moeurs, etc. etc. [A Voyage in the Indian Ocean and to Bengal, undertaken in the years 1789 and 1790: containing An Account of the Sechelles Islands and Trincomale; The Character and Arts of the People of India;... To which is added, A Voyage in the Red Sea; including A Description of Mocha, and of the Trade of the Arabs of Yemen].

Paris: Dentu, An IX - 1801. First Edition. Octavo, 2 vols. [iv], 288; [iv], 318, [1] pp. With seven copper engraved folding plates. Original publisher's pink papered wrappers with printed paper labels. A near fine uncut set.

 

"Louis de Grandpré was a French army officer who made an extensive tour of the Indian Ocean region in 1789-90, which was published in Paris in 1801 under the title Voyage dans l'Inde et au Bengale fait dans les années 1789 et 1790, contenant la description des îles Séchelles et de Trinquemaly. Grandpré began his voyage in the French-controlled Île de France (Isle of France), as Mauritius was called, passed by the Maldives, and visited the Seychelles, India, Cochin China (Vietnam), Yemen, and Ceylon (Sri Lanka), where he toured the fortress of Trincomale on the eastern coast of the island. Grandpré was very much concerned with the relative influence of the different European powers in the places he visited, especially India. His work includes a detailed analysis of the position of the French at Pondicherry, the main center of French influence in India" (World Digital Library); Howgego P84.

$2250USD

50. Grant , James Augustus (1827-1892)

A Walk Across Africa or Domestic Scenes from my Nile Journal.

London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1864. First Edition. Octavo. xviii, 452, [1], [33] pp. With a large folding map in rear cover pocket. This issue without the very rarely present frontispiece portrait of Grant. Period style brown gilt tooled half straight grained morocco with gilt red morocco label and marbled boards. A very good copy.

"In 1852 Grant had spent some time shooting tigers with his friend and fellow Indian army officer, John Hanning Speke, who in 1859 invited his companion to join the Royal Geographical Society Nile expedition. Speke hoped to prove his contention that Lake Victoria, which he had discovered in 1858, was the source of the Nile. The two explorers and their porters now embarked on the ‘long walk' on which Palmerston was later to remark and so provide Grant with the title of his book, A Walk across Africa (1864). It took them inland from the east African coast to Tabora and then northwards around the western shores of Lake Victoria to the kingdom of Buganda and ultimately down the Nile valley to Egypt.., Grant shared in the fame which resulted from the expedition, receiving the Royal Geographical Society's gold medal in 1864" (Oxford DNB).

 

"Grant, a calm, unassuming man, proved an ideal counterpoise to the mercurial Speke. Their expedition provided further confirmation that Lake Victoria was the source of the Nile. They also traveled in previously unexplored regions of Uganda and made significant contributions in various fields. Grant was especially useful as a collector and natural historian, as was evidenced by his description of the expedition" (Delpar p. 171); Hess & Coger 267; Howgego, 1850-1940 Continental Exploration, S54.

$2750USD

51. Guessfeldt , Paul (1840-1920), Julius Falkenstein & Eduard Pechuel-Loesche

Die Loango-Expedition. Ausgesandt von der Deutschen Gesellschaft zur Erforschung Aequatorial-Afrikas 1873-1876. [The Loango-Expedition Undertaken by the German Society for the Exploration of Equatorial Africa 1873-1876].

Leipzig: Paul Froberg, 1879. First Edition. Quarto, 3 vols. in one. viii, 232; [viii], 183; [vi], 304, [iv] pp. With two chromolithograph plates, two chromolithograph maps and many wood engravings on plates and in text. Period brown gilt tooled half morocco with marbled boards. Some minor wear of spine, otherwise a very good copy.

 

Paul Guessfeldt, on behalf of the German Africa Society led the Loango Expedition of 1873-75. Guessfeldt with A. Bastian established a scientific station at Chinchoxo on the Angola coast. From there attempts were made to explore further inland. They explored "the rivers of Loango.., The expedition's specific instructions were to trace the courses of the Ogobe and Okanda rivers down to the Loango coast" (Howgego, Continental Exploration 1850-1940, G62); Henze II, 415.

$1250USD

52. Guillain , [Charles] (1808-1875)

Documents sur l'Histoire, la Géographie et le Commerce de l'Afrique Orientale. Publiés par Ordre du Gouvernement. [Documents on the History, Geography and Trade of East Africa. Issued by Order of the Government].

Paris: Arthus Bertrand, [1856-1857]. First Edition. 3 vols. Octavo & Folio Atlas. xxxi, [i], 628; xxiii, 556; [iv], 527 pp. Text with an engraved plan and a folding table and atlas with eleven engraved maps (five folding), forty-five tinted lithographed plates, some after daguerreotypes. Handsome period style brown gilt tooled quarter morocco with marbled boards and green vellum tips. A very good set.

 

"Charles Guillain visited the Indian Ocean coasts of Africa and the Portuguese settlements in India aboard the Du Couedic between January 1846 and May 1849. He was appointed member of a commission in 1858 to investigate new possibilities of French emigration to the colonies, and governor of New Caledonia in 1861" (Sothebys). Guillain's Documents sur l'Histoire is also one of the only sources for the travels of Eugene Maizan (1819-1845). "Possibly the first European to penetrate East Africa.., Maizan proceeded as far as the district of Deje-la-Mhora, on the Uzaramo plateau about 80-150 kilometers from the coast, when he was set upon by Mazangera tribesmen under sub-chief Hembe, and bound to a calabash tree and savagely murdered.., [Guillain's Documents sur l'Histoire is] considered the finest account of East Africa for the period" (Howgego 1800-1850, M6); Guillain "sailed down the Indian Ocean coast and went ashore at Mogadishu, Marca, and Baraawe, penetrating some distance inland and collecting valuable geographic and ethnographic information" (Encyclopaedia Britannica Online); Gay 236; Hess & Coger 272; Ibrahim-Hilmy I, 280.

$13750USD

53. Halls , J.J.

The Life and Correspondence of Henry Salt, Esq., F.R.S. &c. His Britannic Majesty's Late Consul General in Egypt.

London: Richard Bentley, 1834. Second Edition. Octavo, 2 vols. xv, 502; viii, 440 pp. With two copper engraved portrait frontispieces. Handsome period black gilt tooled half calf with marbled boards and maroon gilt morocco labels and housed in a custom made black cloth slipcase. A few leaves with some minor staining, otherwise a very good set.

This work represents a comprehensive biography of Henry Salt (1780-1827). "On 20 June 1802 Salt left England on an eastern tour, as secretary and draughtsman to Viscount Valentia (later the earl of Mountnorris). He visited India, Ceylon, and the Red Sea, and in 1805 was sent by Valentia on a mission into Abyssinia, to the ras of Tigré, whose affection and respect he gained, and with whom he left one of his party, Nathaniel Pearce. The return to England in 1806 was made by way of Egypt, where he first met the pasha, Mehmet Ali. Lord Valentia's Travels in India (1809) was partly written and completely illustrated by Salt, who published his own 24 Views in St Helena, India and Egypt in the same year.

 

On 2 March 1809 Salt sailed on a mission from the British government to Abyssinia, to carry presents to the king and report on the state of the country. Owing to factious unrest, he was prevented from going to the king at Gondar and was obliged to deliver the presents instead to the ras of Tigré. While in Abyssinia he made many observations on the geography, the customs of the people, and the flora and fauna. He brought back many specimens, including a previously unknown dik-dik. Another member of Salt's party, William Coffin, chose to remain in Abyssinia when Salt returned to England in 1811. In 1812 Salt became a fellow of the Royal Society and of the Linnean Society, and a correspondent of the Institut de France. In 1812 he was elected one of the very few honorary members of the African Association in acknowledgement of information he had procured in its interest. In 1814 he published A Voyage to Abyssinia, which was received with some acclaim" (Oxford DNB).

$975USD

54. Hartung , George (1822-1891)

Die Azoren in Ihrer Ausseren Erscheinung und nach Ihrer Geognostischen Natur Geschildert. [A Description of the Azores, Especially Their Geological Features].

Leipzig: Wilhelm Engelmann, 1860. First Edition. Large Octavo&Small Folio Atlas. viii, 350+[1] pp. Atlas with one map and nineteen other lithographed plates, many colored and folding. Handsome period style red gilt tooled half morocco with marbled boards. A very good set.

Georg Hartung was a pioneer German geologist. His work "on the Azores contains illustrations of great scientific interest. Georg Hartung also met and corresponded with Charles Darwin and with Sir Charles Lyell, the pioneer of modern geology, from whom he received scientific samples. He visited the Canary Islands in the winter of 1853 and the spring of 1854" (Wikipedia).

$4750USD

55. Horneman , Frederick (1772-1801)

The Journal of Frederick Horneman's Travels from Cairo to Mourzouk, the Capital of the Kingdom of Fezzan, in Africa. In the Years 1797-8.

London: W. Bulmer and Co., 1802. First Edition. Quarto. xxvi, 195 pp. With 3 maps (2 large and folding). Period brown gilt tooled full calf. Rebacked in period style, extremities mildly rubbed, otherwise a very good copy.

"Horneman was one of the unlucky four sent out by the African Association to solve the vexatious question of the elusive Niger – where was its source, in what direction did it flow, and where did it empty. He set out in Egypt, reached Murzuk, but ended up in Tripoli. Starting from that country he made another attempt, but died somewhere on the Niger, without being able to inform the world of what he accomplished" (Cox I p. 398). "Some intelligence of Horneman's fate was eventually gleaned from a certain Captain Smith, who in 1817 was surveying the north coast of Africa and met the Bey of Fezzan, an Arab who had travelled with Horneman. It was not until 1819 that F. George Lyon and Joseph Ritchie reached Murzuk and collected information about Horneman's fate. He had apparently joined a caravan bound for Bornu (to the southwest of Lake Chad), crossed the Sahara and reached Katsina (in northern Nigeria), from where he had passed south into the Nupe Kingdom on the lower Niger. He apparently died of dysentery at Bakkanee (=Bokanee, just north of the Niger)" (Howgego, H100).

$975USD

56. Hutton , William

A Voyage to Africa: Including a Narrative of an Embassy to one of the Interior Kingdoms, in the year 1820; with Remarks on the Course and Termination of the Niger, and Other Principal Rivers in that Country.

London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1821. First Edition. Octavo. x, 488 pp. With two folding maps and four hand-colored aquatints on plates. Handsome period brown gilt tooled treed full calf with a red gilt morocco label. Hinges cracked but holding, extremities mildly rubbed, Title page with expertly removed library marking, otherwise a very good copy.

 

The author's journey closely followed the route of Thomas Edward Bowdich's "Mission from Cape Coast Castle to Ashantee." "The author was acting consul for Ashantee, and an officer of the African Company" (Bonhams). The book contains an account of the author's journey to Kumasi and includes a vocabulary and short grammar of the Ashanti and Fanti languages. Also included is a account of the murder of Mr. Meredith, the governor of Winnebah Fort in 1812. Abbey Travel, 280; Gay 2871; Hess & Coger 6404; Cardinall 563.

$1750USD

57. Jubelin , [Jean-Guillaume (1787-1860), Governor of Senegal 7 Jan 1828 – 11 May 1829]

Order on Printed Letterhead (Gouveneur du Senegal & De ses Dependances) to Mr. Daugles to explore the coast of West Africa especially the Bissagos Islands via the Casamance River. Signed by the Governor of Senegal and countersigned by Mestro with an official ink stamp Gouvernement du Senegal.

Saint-Louis: Senegal & Dependances, 15 March 1828. In French. Folio. 2 pages. Order is approx. 31 x 20 cm (12.5 x 8 inches) The order is written in a legible hand and in very good condition.

 

Jubelin served as governor of Senegal from 1828 to 1829 and of French Guiana from 1829 to 1836, and finally of Guadeloupe from 1837 to 1841. The Bissagos Islands are a group of 18 major islands and dozens more smaller ones in the Atlantic Ocean and are a part of Guinea-Bissau. The Casamance is the principal river of the Kolda, Sédhiou, and Ziguinchor Regions in the southern portion of Senegal between The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau (Wikipedia).

$1750USD

58. Kingsley , Mary Henrietta (1862-1900)

Thirty Two Page Signed and Dated Manuscript in the Author's Hand of the First Chapter: Introduction to English West African History of Kingsley's Third and Last Book: The Story of West Africa London, 11 March 1899.

Kensington, London, 11 March 1899. Folio. 32 leaves. Pages: ca. 32.5 x 20.5 cm (13 x 8 inches) each. Manuscript in very good condition, housed in a red gilt tooled full morocco clamshell box.

32 Leaves, written in the author's own hand, signed by her in full, dated 11 March 1899, addressed to herself with postage stamp and postmark. This is the handwritten manuscript comprising the first chapter of her last and very rare book the Story of West Africa, which was part of the Story of the Empire series and edited by Howard Angus Kennedy. The manuscript is accompanied by a copy of the 169 page book published in 1900.

 

Mary Henrietta Kingsley was an English writer and explorer who greatly influenced European ideas about Africa and African people. This is the first chapter of Kingsley's third and last book which is the rarest of the trio and unknown to most collectors. Kingsley died in South Africa as this book was being published which may explain its rarity.

On return to England in 1895 from her first trip to Africa , Mary Kingsley settled into her brother's London home and began work on writing her book Travels in West Africa . The first book was a best seller, and she immediately set about writing a second containing all the material discarded earlier for lack of space. West African Studies was published, again by Macmillan, in 1899. At the same time, Kingsley became more active in various campaigns against colonial intervention in Africa. Kingsley was quite influential, with direct access to the Colonial Office, and British colonial policy after 1890 showed a greater concern for retaining African social institutions. In 1899, while planning her third trip to West Africa, Kingsley wrote to one of her few intimate friends, Matthew Nathan, an officer of the Royal Engineers, who became the Governor of Sierra Leone. The letter included the portentous comment: "I went down to West Africa to die. West Africa amused me and was kind to me and was scientifically interesting – and did not want to kill me just then. I am in no hurry. I don't care one way or the other, for a year or so."

Instead of West Africa, Kingsley departed in 1899 for South Africa; to collect specimens of fresh-water fish from the Orange River. On arrival at Cape Town, she was plunged into the thick of the recently declared Anglo-Boer War. She immediately went to the Army's Principal Medical Officer and offered her services. Apparently annoyed by her persistent application, and in an attempt to discourage further enquiries he suggested she try nursing Boer prisoners at a nearby camp in Simon's Town. Undeterred by an outbreak of typhoid and dysentery, Kingsley took up the post. She started smoking, and drank wine instead of water, in an attempt to avoid the contagion. But she failed, and on 3 June 1900 at the age of 37 she died of typhoid fever. Kingsley's last request was to be buried at sea. Her coffin was taken out into False Bay by torpedo-boat and, with full military and naval honours, interred (Wikipedia).

$8750USD

59. Laing , Major Alexander Gordon (1794-1826)

Travels in the Timannee, Kooranko, and Soolina Countries, in Western Africa.

London: John Murray, 1825. First Edition. Octavo. x, [ii], 465 pp. With seven aquatint plates and one folding engraved map. Period brown gilt tooled half calf with marbled boards. Recased using the original spine, otherwise a very good copy.

 

In this book Laing describes his expedition in 1822, during which he explored regions which had only been known by name up to then. He went to Falaba, the capital of the Sulima, where he was prevented from going on by the war of the Ashanti. During his next expedition he was the first European to reach Timbuktu but was killed on his further journey.

 

"In 1821 the government decided that there were commercial and political advantages to be gained by establishing contact with some of the peoples of the interior, and at the end of the year the governor of Sierra Leone, Sir Charles McCarthy, proposed a mission to Kambia and the Mandingo Country. Laing was chosen to lead the expedition and set out in January 1822, proceeding first to Malacouri, a Mandingo town on the river Malageea. There he learned that Sannassee, the chief of the district of Malageea and a friend of the British government, had been captured by Amara, the king of the Soolimas, and was about to be put to death. Laing therefore resolved to go to the Soolima camp and intercede for the life of Sannassee. He crossed the Malageea near its source, reached the camp, negotiated the release of Sannassee, then returned to the coast" (Howgego 1800-1850, L5)". "His Travels, published in 1825, give a lively account of his adventures, including not only observations on the customs of the peoples he encountered, illustrated with his own rather amateurish drawings and a good map, but also an oral history of Solima Yalunka back to the seventeenth century, useful to later historians. Laing was transferred to the Gold Coast in 1823 and edited the first newspaper to be published there. Then, stationed on the frontier, he participated in some skirmishes with the Asante army before the disastrous battle of Nsamanko, in which MacCarthy and almost all his men were killed" (Oxford DNB).

$1500USD

60. Lander , Richard (1804-1834)

Records of Captain Clapperton's Last Expedition to Africa.

London: Henry Colburn and Richard Bentley, 1830. First Edition. Octavo, 2 vols. xxiii, [i], 310; vi, 293 pp. With an engraved portrait frontispiece and six wood engravings in text. Period style blue papered boards with beige cloth spine and printed paper labels. A very good set.

 

"Public interest in the African discoveries of Clapperton and Denham led Lander to offer his services to Clapperton, refusing better paid employment in South America. With Clapperton he went to west Africa and was his devoted servant during this, his last expedition. They sailed in the Brazen in August 1825, reaching Badagri and thence heading inland, experiencing much sickness and privation en route. They crossed the Niger and went on as far as Sokoto where Clapperton died in 1827. Despite his own severe illness, Lander made his way back to the coast, reporting Clapperton's death to Denham who sent the news to England. Lander followed with Clapperton's papers, arriving at Portsmouth in April 1828. He made his way to Truro in poor health and was initially unable to edit Clapperton's Journal which appeared in 1829 with Lander's own Journal appended. In 1830 with the help of his brother John Lander, Richard produced an edited version in two volumes" (Oxford DNB)".

After Lander had buried his master's remains and spent two weeks recovering from malaria he proceeded to Kano, from where he intended to cross the desert to Tripoli. Finding he was too short of money to buy camels he resolved instead to proceed southwards in the hope of reaching the Niger and completing the task which Clapperton's death had left unfinished. He got as far as Dunrora, near the Benue River, where he was compelled to turn back, and after some delay and trouble at Zaria, was forced to return to Badagri by the route of the outward journey" (Howgego, 1800-1850, L9); Hess & Coger 7089.

$975USD

61. Lefebvre , Charlemagne-Theophile (1811-1860)

Voyage en Abyssinie execute pendant les annees 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843. [Travels in Abyssinia made in the Years 1839-1843].

Paris: Arthus Bertand, ca. 1845. First Edition. Octavo, 2 vols. & Folio Atlas. text: xci, 393, [1]; iv, 148, 376, [1] pp. The folio atlas with a large folding map of Abyssinia, 45 lithographed plates of the landscape and people, many folding and beautifully hand colored. And 14 lithographed plates of the archaeology of the country. Text with eight lithographed plates and a large folding panorama of the Simien Mountains. Period black gilt tooled quarter morocco with marbled boards housed in a matching slip case, plates in the atlas volume loose and housed in matching box. A very good set.

 

This copy represents the first part of this rare work containing the complete travel narrative and the topographical and ethnographical views and plates. This is the first scientific book published on Abyssinia, which remains a fundamental source on that part of Africa. Charlemagne-Theophile Lefebvre had been supported by the French government to explore the interior of Abyssinia. He traveled the country in 1839 with two naturalists, Quatrini-Dillon and Petit, and then undertook a second trip with a third naturalist, Vignaud, as his first two companions had died. Lefebvre returned from his mission in 1843 and published his account with the financial support of the Ministry of Marine. The plates show the Simien Mountains, Massawa, Gondar, Lake Tana, Aduwa, and Debra-Libanos which also give a good indication of the route and scope of the expedition. "In 1837 the French navy despatched Lefebvre on an exploratory mission.., the mission proceeded from Massawa through the territories of Tigre, Shoa and Gojam, and around Lake Tana and Gondar. Lefebvre amassed a vast store of geographical, sociological, archaeological and linguistic data. He made several more visits to Ethiopia, returning to Massawa in 1847-48, and in 1854-58 initiating trade with Aduwa" (Howgego 1800-1850, E19).

$8500USD

62. Leonard , Peter

Records of a Voyage to the Western Coast of Africa; in His Majesty's Ship ‘Dryad', and of the Service on that Station for the Suppression of the Slave Trade, in the Years 1830, 1831 and 1832.

Edinburgh: William Tait, 1833. First Edition. Small Octavo. iv, 267, [5] pp. Later navy gilt cloth. A near fine copy.

Rare work. Records of a Voyage, relate to the author's service under Commodore John Hayes as surgeon on HMS ‘Dryad' from 1830 to 1832, the chief purpose of the expedition being the capture of slave traders operating from Sierra Leone, Gambia and Fernando Po. John Hayes (1775-1838) "from 1830 to 1832 was commodore on the west coast of Africa, with a broad pennant on board the Dryad (42 guns)" (Oxford DNB).

"By November 1829 Dryad was recommissioning in Plymouth for foreign service. Captain John Hayes joined her in May 1830 and she sailed for the coast of Africa on 29 September 1830, with Captain Hayes serving as Commodore on that station, a station with a well-deserved reputation for killing sailors by disease. Fair Rosamond and Black Joke, both captured ex-slave ships, were tenders to Dryad, and between November 1830 and March 1832, they accounted for 11 out of the 13 slavers the squadron captured. Despite the hardships, the West Africa Squadron carried out a determined effort to stop the slave trade, a task that increasing international co-operation gradually more effective" (Wikipedia); Hess & Coger 5601.

$1250USD

63. Lesseps , Ferdinand de (1805-1894)

[Two Items Relating to Ferdinand de Lesseps and the Suez Canal]:

An Autograph Two Page Letter Signed ‘Ferd. De Lesseps, 'Dated Paris, 14 December 1882 and Addressed to 'Commandant' [In French] thanking him for his communication from Port Said, discussing the case of La Frégate Carmen in the Suez Canal, expressing his sympathy with all the officers on board, and thanking his correspondent for the proposal for agents for the Canal.

[With] Suez Maritime Canal Universal Company. Working Department. Regulations for the Navigation of the Suez Maritime Canal. Printed in double columns; in French and English. 16 pages including 3 pages of signals. Folio. Occasional marginal tears. Unbound. Printed at Port Said. Regulations in force on and after 1 July 1878.

Paris & Port Said, 1878-1882. Letter approx. 21 x 14 cm (8.5 x 5.5 inches). The letter is written in a legible hand and in fine condition.

 

"Ferdinand Marie, Vicomte de Lesseps, was the French developer of the Suez Canal, which joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas in 1869, and substantially reduced sailing distances and times between the West and the East.., The Suez Canal, also known by the nickname "The Highway to India," is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation around Africa. The northern terminus is Port Said and the southern terminus is Port Tawfik at the city of Suez" (Wikipedia).

$1750USD

64. Livingstone , David (1813-1873)

[A Small David Livingstone Collection Including]:

Autograph two page Letter Signed "David Livingstone", dated Hamilton 20 June 1865: "A telegram called me from Oxford this morning - my mother is dead";

[With] a Carte de Visite Photograph by Mayall, Brighton with a Biographical Manuscript Note on Livingstone on Verso; [With] A Signed Color Engraving of David Livingstone by H. Scott Bridgewater published in 1927 by the Museum Galleries, London with a printed leaf of Livingstone's Biography.

1865-1927. Letter 18 x 11 cm, carte de visite photo 10 x 6 cm and engraving 23 x 30 cm (11.5 x 9 inches). The letter, carte de visite photo and engraving are in fine condition.

 

"In death Livingstone became once more a national hero. The Treasury paid £500 for the funeral; Gladstone awarded a pension to Livingstone's daughters; and Disraeli's subsequent ministry gave the family £3000. Although Livingstone's Nile theory had already been disproved, he was acclaimed once again as a great abolitionist: his numerous reports on the slavers' advance across Africa from the east coast were seen to have led to the treaty against the trade enforced on the sultan of Zanzibar in 1873. Missionaries soon began to realize Livingstone's vision of rivers and lakes as highways for the spiritual and social regeneration of Africa, even if his views on the commercial function of missions were sometimes more influential than his lifelong advocacy of ‘native agency'. Two Scottish missions, one named Livingstonia and the other Blantyre, went out to Lake Nyasa and the Shire highlands in 1875-6. Both were crucial factors in the British occupation of what became Nyasaland and then Malawi. Meanwhile the UMCA [Universities Mission to Central Africa], which had re-established itself in Zanzibar, was at work on the mainland; by 1878 the LMS [London Missionary Society] was on Lake Tanganyika, and the Church Missionary Society was in Buganda, as a result of Stanley's return to east Africa. Stanley himself completed Livingstone's geographical work by reaching the Lualaba and following the Congo to the sea.

Stanley had, of course, taken the lead in reviving Livingstone's celebrity and his book, How I Found Livingstone (1872), presented the traveller as a genial saint. Horace Waller, who had been with the UMCA at Magomero, fastidiously edited Livingstone's Last Journals (1874), a poignant testimony to soul-searching, suffering, forbearance, and tenacity. These books, and their derivatives, contributed to a Livingstone legend which had begun with Missionary Travels. There was a peculiar romance about the lone missionary ever pressing into new country, concerned not to convert but to bear Christian witness by preaching the gospel, giving magic-lantern shows, and speaking against slavery. Livingstone became a symbol of what the British—and other Europeans—wished to believe about their motives as they took over tropical Africa in the late nineteenth century: in effect he redeemed the colonial project. In 1929 the Scottish national memorial to David Livingstone was opened at his birthplace, Blantyre, by the duchess of York; by 1963 there had been 2 million visitors. In Africa, he is still commemorated in the names of two towns: Blantyre, in Malawi, and Livingstone, in Zambia, beside the Victoria Falls.

For half a century after his death Livingstone was the subject of hagiography rather than scholarship. More realistic assessments became possible with access to the papers of Kirk and other members of the Zambezi expedition. The chief work of reappraisal, however, was achieved in Isaac Schapera's magisterial editions of Livingstone's journals and letters up to 1856. During the later twentieth century a complex character came into focus: versatile in practical skills, intellectually curious, strikingly free from religious or racial prejudice, exerting unusual charm, and inspiring at least a few to great loyalty; yet deficient in political sense, tactless, touchy, rancorous, stingy with thanks or encouragement, devious, and callous when other people's interests seemed to conflict with his duty to God. Livingstone's reputation for managing Africans, if not Europeans, rests on the expeditions of 1853–6, which were organized chiefly by Africans, and on Waller's emollient edition of his last journals. None the less, his writings have acquired new value as a rich source for the history of Africans. His pioneering cartography of eastern Angola and what became Botswana, Zambia, and Malawi was but one facet of his skill as an amateur field-scientist in an age of growing specialization. Secular knowledge and material mastery were integral to his missiology: the industrial revolution was part of a divine plan. Livingstone both embodied and transcended the nineteenth-century tension between religion and science, and it was this which accounted for the scale and complexity of his career in Africa" (Oxford DNB).

$4250USD

65. Lobo , Father Jerome (1595-1687)

A Voyage to Abyssinia. By Father Jerome Lobo, A Portuguese Jesuit, Containing A Narrative of the Dangers he Underwent in his first Attempt to Pass from the Indies into Abyssinia; with a Description of the Coasts of the Red Sea; An Account of the History, Laws, Customs, Religion, Habits and Buildings of the Abyssins; with the Rivers, Air, Soil, Birds, Beasts, Fruits and Other Natural Productions of That Remote and Unfrequented Country; A Relation of the Admission of the Jesuits into Abyssinia in 1625, and their Expulsion from thence in 1634; An Exact Description of the Nile, its Head, its Waters, and the Cause of its Inundations. With Continuation of the History of Abyssinia Down to the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century, and Fifteen Dissertations on Various Subjects Relating to the History, Antiquities, Government, Religion, Manners, and Natural History of Abyssinia, and Other Countries. By Mr. Le Grand. [Translated from the French by Samuel Johnson].

 

London: A. Bettesworth and C. Hitch, 1735. First English Edition. Octavo. xii, 396, [8] pp. Title page printed in red and black. Woodcut headpieces, tailpieces, and initials. Period brown gilt tooled full calf. Rebacked in style with red gilt morocco label and using the original boards. A very good copy.

 

One of the most important and earliest sources on Ethiopia and the Nile River. Lobo was the second European to describe the Sources of the Blue Nile. The book was translated from French by Samuel Johnson (1709-1784) who was called "arguably the most distinguished man of letters in English history" (Oxford DNB). "The Portuguese traveler, contrary to the general vein of his countrymen, has amused his reader with no romantic absurdities or incredible fictions <...> He appears by his modest and unaffected narration to have described Things as he saw them, to have copied nature from the life and to have consulted his senses not his imagination; he meets with no Basilisks that destroy with their eyes, his crocodiles devour their prey without tears and his Cataracts fall from the rock without deafening the neighboring inhabitants" (The Preface).

Jeronimo Lobo (1595-1687) was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary and a traveler who was sent first to India (in 1621) and then to Ethiopia where he stayed for nine years (1624-1634) and became the superintendent of the Catholic Mission in Tigray and one of the best European experts on Ethiopian matters of his day. He visited the Jubba River (modern Somalia), travelled to the Ethiopian highlands, Lake Tana and the Blue Nile, reaching the province of Damot. Lobo also tried to recover the remains of Christopher da Gama, who was captured and executed by Ahmad Ibn Al-Ghazi Ibrihim in 1542. He described the town of Fremona which was the base of the Roman Catholic missionaries to Ethiopia during the 16th and 17th centuries and was eventually abandoned after the Catholic missionaries were banished from Ethiopia in 1634.

In 1634 Ethiopian Emperor Fasilides exiled Lobo and his companions together with Afonso Mendes, the Catholic Patriarch of Ethiopia and they had to return to Goa through Massawa and Suakin, being exposed to robbery, assaults and other indignities by the local population on the way. Their sufferings were deteriorated when Suakin Pasha forced the party to pay a ransom before they could proceed to India, but after receiving the money insisted on keeping Patriarch Mendes and three other senior priests for further money. Lobo went to Goa and tried to convince Viceroy Miguel de Noronha to send an armament to the Red Sea to capture Suakin and Massawa, free the patriarch by force, and restore Catholicism to Ethiopia. His attempts weren't successful and Lobo embarked for Portugal, where he continued his efforts to release the missionaries (Wikipedia).

Lobo's account of his travels weren't published during his life. The first edition of his book was published in French in 1728, translated by Abbé Joachim Le Grand. This edition contains the text of Lobo's memoires together with fifteen articles on different Abyssinian subjects by Le Grand.

"Lobo, a Jesuit missionary, went to Abyssinia in 1625 with eight or nine companions. There he remained for a decade as Superior of the Jesuit mission, noting down valuable facts on the land, the people, the Nile, etc." (Cox I p.375); "For the following nine years, until the expulsion of the Jesuits, Lobo travelled widely in Ethiopia, visiting Gojam and Gamot to the south of Lake Tana, the Agua country and Fazilo where the Blue Nile issues from the mountains. Like Paez before him, he visited the source of the Blue Nile and the Alata Falls" (Howgego L138).

$1750USD

66. Lugard , Frederick John Dealtry, Baron (1858-1945)

Two Autograph Letters Signed "F.J.D. Lugard" to "Thomas" and "Fagan" (of Natural History Museum) Dated 1 Sept. 1895 and 15 Feb. 1896 Respectively.

[South Africa], 1895-6. Octavo. 3 pages each. Letters each approx. 18 x 11 cm (7 x 4.5 inches). The letters are written in a legible hand and are in near fine condition.

The two interesting letters are full of content and in the 1895 letter Lugard discusses what "Thomas" has in his collections (especially the horns and skin of a hartebeest) and asks for a spare Kobus Kob skin. He has immature Kobus Kob horns if he wants them from "South of Lokoja on Niger bank". Perhaps he is discussing the results of his expedition to Borgu. In the 1896 letter Lugard describes in detail the sort of man he wishes to employ looking after stores and doing "miscellaneous work", a taxidermist or collector. Presumably he is preparing for the expedition to Lake Ngami (1896-7).

"West Africa, 1894-1895:

Despite any disenchantment over his experience of two companies and his longed for but dwindling hope of returning to east Africa in senior government service, Lugard now embarked, however hesitatingly, on another roving company expedition. An offer of service came from Sir George Goldie, who had obtained a charter for his Royal Niger Company and in 1894 was busily concluding treaties with local chiefs so as to strengthen the company's capacity to repel the encroachments of the French in the Niger region. Aware that they were preparing an expedition to Borgu, Goldie wanted Lugard to proceed to Nikki, its chief town, and to forestall the French and Germans by securing a treaty from the ruler. In a rapid and remarkable march through unexplored country, Lugard won the so-called ‘steeplechase to Nikki', to the dismay of the French, who had no doubt about the motives of one whom they stigmatized as ‘the conqueror of Uganda'.

Southern Africa, 1896-1897:

A brief interlude in southern Africa followed. Lugard left the Niger in April 1895, still hoping that the government would ask for his services in Africa. Agonizingly, his appointment as CB brought nothing more with it, so he accepted an offer from yet another African company, the new British West Charterland Company, and set off to explore a mineral commission near Lake Ngami in Bechuanaland. Here the main problem was not fighting but transport. The journey involved 700 miles across the Kalahari Desert, and a rinderpest epidemic had emptied the country of trek cattle. Nevertheless, the journey was accomplished by September 1896. In the following August, Lugard received an urgent and surprise message from the new colonial secretary, Joseph Chamberlain, inviting him to take up work in west Africa. It was an imperial appointment at last. What Lugard called his ‘destiny to Africa' entered its third phase: after central and east Africa, henceforth it was to be west Africa. It turned out to be the longest connection of them all" (Oxford DNB).

$1250USD

67. MacQueen , James (1778-1870)

A Geographical and Commercial view of Northern Central Africa: Containing a Particular Account of the Course and Termination of the Great River Niger in the Atlantic Ocean.

Edinburgh et al.: William Blackwood et al., 1821. First Edition. Octavo. xix, 288 pp. With a large folding engraved frontispiece map and two other folding engraved maps. Handsome period brown gilt tooled treed full calf. Recased and with a small wormhole in lower blank margin of first few leaves, not affecting text, otherwise a very good copy.

 

James MacQueen "became interested in African geography, a subject on which he became a leading authority, when he read Mungo Park's Travels (1799). He collected much information concerning the features of the country on the upper Niger from the Mandingo slaves under his charge, and the merchants and slave agents with whom he had dealings. He was one of the first to assert, in a treatise of 1816, that the Niger entered the ocean in the bights of Benin and Biafra, before this question was settled by the Landers in 1830" (Oxford DNB). "In 1821 James M'Queen published [a work] supporting the theory first advanced in 1808 by the German, C.G. Reichard, that the Niger flowed into the gulf of Guinea. M'Queen was a resident of Grenada in the West Indies and had taken the opportunity to question African slaves captured on the Nigerian coast. Their answers, together with M'Queen's own study of the Arab geography, gave a remarkably good account of the true course of the Niger" (Howgego 1800-1850, N12); Cardinall 585; Hess & Coger 5610.

$2250USD

68. Mason , W.

An Occasional Discourse, ... in ... York, Jan. 27, on the Subject of the African Slave Trade.

York: A. Ward, 1788. First Edition. Quarto. 27 pp. Handsome period style brown gilt tooled half calf with marbled boards. A very good copy.

 

This work is part of a late eighteenth century movement to abolish the slave trade and which finally culminated with the Slave Trade Act in 1807. "The mission of the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was to inform the public of the immoral acts committed in the act of slavery, bring about a new law to abolish the slave trade and enforce this on the high seas, and establish areas in West Africa where Africans could live free of the risk of capture and sale. It pursued these proposals vigorously by writing and publishing anti-slavery books, abolitionist prints, posters and pamphlets, and organizing lecture tours in towns and cities" (Wikipedia); Sabin 45485.

$975USD

69. Mengin , Felix

Histoire de l'Egypte sous le Gouvernement de Mohammed-Aly, ou recit des Evenemens Politiques et Militaires qui ont eu lieu depuis le Depart des Francais jusqu'en 1823. [History of Egypt under the Government of Muhammad Ali, or a narrative of political and military events that have occurred since the departure of the French until 1823].

Paris: A. Bertrand, 1823. First Edition. Octavo 3 vols, & Folio Atlas. 8, xlvii, 464; [iv], 644, [1]; [4], [4] pp. With ten lithographs on plates, a double page plan and a large folding map and a four page table loosely housed in an atlas portfolio. Atlas portfolio in original publisher's green papered boards with printed blue paper labels. Text recently rebound to match atlas in green papered boards with printed blue paper labels. Text in browned sections and foxed, otherwise a very good set.

 

The map as well as the text covers the Arabian Penisula and Egypt. "Felix Mengin was a French historian, he wrote a several books about the history of Egypt, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries. he came to Egypt with Napoléon Bonaparte's mission" (Wikipedia); "Mengin, son-in-law of Caffe, agent for the French consul, was resident in Cairo for many years as a merchant. He acted as Chateaubriand's host in Cairo in 1806. Mengin was one of Mehmet Ali's apologists" (Atabey 802;. Ibrahim Hilmy II, p.30. "Mehemet Ali became the Pacha in 1807, serving in the name of the Sultan of Constantinople. After the departure of Lesseps, Drovetti had the official responsibilities and Felix Mengin, a merchant at Cairo, took the interim of the French affairs. As did Lesseps, Drovetti considered Mehmet Ali as the only person able to restore order in Egypt; he tried to understand his intention and he assured him of French support" (Journal of the International Napoleonic Society).

$15000USD

70. Menzies , Alfred

[The Boer War; Christiaan Rudolf de Wet; George C. Brodrick (1831-1903); Warden of Merton College, Oxford; Charles Grant].

Unpublished Typescript, by 'Prisoner of War', entitled 'A Remarkable Trek. 17 Days with De Wet'; With Typescript headed 'Bloemfontein Friday December 14th. 1900.'; With photographic portrait; and Autograph References Signed by Broderick and Grant.

1896-1900. Five items of various sizes. The collection is in aged but very good condition.

Five items, including two vivid and informative accounts by a highly educated English army officer of a little-known incident in the Second Boer War. Both typescripts date from the first part of the last century.

 

TYPESCRIPT ONE : 'A REMARKABLE TREK. 17 DAYS [23 November to 9 December 1900] WITH DE WET by "Prisoner of War"'. Twenty-two pages, on one side each of twenty-two A4 leaves, with a number of minor corrections in manuscript. Text of cropped last leaf legible, despite some damage and loss. Menzies explains how he was 'one of a garrison in a village about 40 miles from Bloemfontein, when De Wet and Steyn collected six different Commandos in the immediate neighbourhood and swooped down on us'. Garrison casualties, after 'three days desperate fighting', stood at twenty per cent on surrender. There followed 'a most disgusting scene of robbery and pillage'. 'De Wet is a short, thick-set man with a dark beard, he was riding then a white horse and was wearing a dark tail coat and a square topped "bowler", a great characteristic of his, and armed with a revolver. I had occasion to speak to De Wet and drew his attention to the way his men were looting and smashing up some mess stores of ours [...] De Wet answered me in English and said he would have them taken away; I am merely quoting this, as it seems to have been the prevailing opinion that De Wet does not talk English.' After crossing the Caledon River the 'trek' ended with 'the Boers being obviously surprised' when 'the British guns a 15 pounder and a pom pom opened on the Column' near Helvetia Farm. 'My indignation knows no bounds when I reflect that enemies of Great Britain from all countries are now successfully urging the Boers to carry on a hopeless struggle which is bringing untold misery and ruin to the country. [...] the curious thing is too that they do not like De Wet, [...] not a single Boer spoke well of him, one Commandant going so far as to describe him as a "Heartless Brute", and I can conceive no better description of this successful guerrilla leader; I cannot call a man who countenances the disgraceful treatment of prisoners-of-war as he did, a soldier'.

TYPESCRIPT TWO : 'Bloemfontein | Friday December 14th. 1900.' Docketed at head of first page 'Letter from Alfred during the South African War reprinted from "The Times"'. (fifteen pages, paginated 73 to 87, on fifteen A4 leaves). A different account, filling in some gaps in Typescript One, e.g. 'just fancy De Wet with over 3,000 men being round us for 5 days within 8 hours' ride of Bloemfontein!! [...] We had 92 casualties out of about 400 and they took 30 wounded men prisoners with us. [...] At the end we all fixed bayonets to charge down the hill, but the Commandant would not allow it, not a man would have survived it and, although magnificent, it would have been useless and served no purpose except making the tremendous fight we had look better on paper.' The two letters relate to Menzies application for the position of Assistant Registrar at the University of London four years before, and allow us to evaluate Menzies' trustworthiness as a narrator.

LETTER ONE : Brodrick 'To the Senate of the University of London', 21 March 1896, Merton College, Oxford. Three pages, 12mo. 'I have known Mr Alfred Menzies since he came up to Merton as a "Postmaster" in 1882, and have a high opinion of his capacity & character. He was in all respects an excellent member of the College, and stood well in the estimation of his fellows, as he did in that of the Tutors.' Brodrick recommended Menzies to family members as a private tutor. 'He is essentially a gentleman, [...] I should feel great confidence in his conscientious performance of [the position's] duties.'

LETTER TWO : Grant to 'My Lords and Gentlemen', 21 March 1896, on letterhead of Drove, Chichester. Three pages, 12mo. 'My boys have had several holiday-tutors at different times - all men of high standing and character; but I considered none of the others at all equal to Mr Menzies in some practical qualities which would fit him as well for a much more responsible post [...] He had a rare combination of strength of character with tact, sense and temper [...] I consider Mr. Menzies eminently qualified for any position, in which firmness, tact and knowledge of the world are essentials.'

THE PHOTOGRAPH (oval, roughly four inches by three wide), with the label of C. Vandyk of 125 Gloucester Road, Queens Gate, S.W. On reverse is oval, and shows the head and shoulders of a military man [Menzies no doubt], with close-cropped hair and bushy moustache, dressed in fatigues .

$1750USD

71. Mercator , Gerard (1512-1594), & Hondius, Jodocus (1563-1612)

[Map of Equatorial Africa] Abissinorum Sive Pretiosi Ioannis Imperiu.

Amsterdam, 1607. Copper Engraving. 34 x 49 cm (13.5 x 19 inches). Original full color. Original centre fold, otherwise a very good map.

Lake Zair and Zarian are depicted as the sources of the Nile in this map of the kingdom of the mythical Prester John. Prester John was the central African King believed by the Crusaders to have converted to Christianity, and thus this area became a popular subject of map-makers. There is also a large inset of the Congo. A very nicely hand colored, strong impression.

 

"The legendary kingdom of the Christian Prester John is the central focus of this impressive map of central Africa. It is cartographically similar to Ortelius' map, based on the travels of the Portuguese explorer, Francisco Alveres, who searched for the mythical kingdom in 1520. The kingdom itself is shown atop the Amara Mons in the region that Alvares encountered the Coptic Christian ruler David II. The large inset of the Congo region, also based on Ortelius, illustrates the travels of another Portuguese explorer, Duarte Lopez. The Nile is shown with its source in the Ptolemaic twin lakes of Zaire and Zaflan, at the foot of the Mountains of the Moon (Lunae Montes)" (Old World Auctions).Van der Krogt Koeman I, p.713.

$750USD

72. Meyer , Dr. Hans (1858-1929)

Ostafrikanische Gletscherfahrten. Forschungsreisen im Kilimandjaro-Gebiet [Across East African Glaciers].

Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, 1893. Second Edition. Octavo. xvi, 376 pp. With two folding maps and twelve photogravures, and eight mounted woodbury type photographic plates and nineteen text illustrations. Original beige decorative pictorial cloth. A fine copy.

 

Meyer describes his third attempt and first successful ascent of Kilimanjaro in September 1889 with Austrian mountaineer L. Purtscheller. "First undisputed ascent of Kibo Peak" (Neate M92). Meyer and Purtscheller agreed that the best chance of success lay in tackling the less severe incline of the southeastern slope of the mountain" (Howgego 1850-1940 Continental Exploration, M58). "On October 5, 1889, with professional mountaineer Ludwig Purtscheller and lead guide Johannes Kinyala Lauwo (1871-1996) Meyer reached the summit of Kilimanjaro" (Wikipedia); Hess & Coger 2126.

$475USD

73. Mohr , Edward (1828-1876)

To the Victoria Falls of the Zambesi ... Translated by N. D'Anvers.

London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, and Rivington, 1876. First Edition. Octavo. xiv, 462, 36 pp. With a portrait frontispiece, four chromolithographed plates, eleven wood-engraved plates, and a folding map. Early 20th century period style maroon gilt tooled half calf with marbled boards. Some mild finger soiling, spine faded and mildly rubbed, otherwise a very good copy.

"A German sportsman, Mohr travelled to the Victoria Falls partly for the sake of hunting, partly in the hope of making geographical discoveries. After landing at Cape Town, he and his companions ventured into the interior, crossing the Tugela River and enjoying a wide variety of sport ... an excellent work of exploration and sport" (Czech p116). "Mohr had been fired [up] by the accounts of Carl Mauch's discoveries, and set out on an expedition, "partly for the sake of hunting, partly in the hope of making geographical discoveries" He was joined by Mr. Adolph Huebner, the expedition [was] financed by Dr. August Petermann ..., Mohr [reached] the Victoria Falls on June 20 1870" (Mendelssohn II, 32-33). "The first German to set eyes on the Victoria Falls, fifteen years after their discovery by Livingstone. Mohr was a competent botanist, entomologist and zoologist and a map-maker, which led to his friendship with the explorer Thomas Baines" (Howgego 1850-1940 Continental Exploration, M76); Hess & Coger 3086.

$1975USD

74. Moore , Francis (bap. 1708, d. in or after 1756)

Travels into the Inland Parts of Africa: containing a Description of the Several Nations for the Space of Six Hundred Miles up the River Gambia... To which is added, Capt. Stibbs's Voyage up the Gambia in the Year 1723, to make Discoveries.

London: Edward Cave, 1738. First Edition. Octavo. xiii, 305, 86, [4], 23 pp. With eleven engraved plates, some folding and a large folding engraved map. Period dark brown full calf with red gilt morocco label. Rebacked in style using original boards and label. Boards rubbed, plates mildly browned, otherwise a very good copy.

 

"This is a valuable work, introducing the reader to many parts and tribes of Africa" (Cox I p.376). "As a writer in the service of the Royal African Company, Moore left England in July 1730, and anchored in the mouth of the Gambia on 9.11.30 and at James Island two days later..., [later] he went to Gillyfree, a large town a little below 'James fort," inhabited by Portuguese, Mundingoes, and some Mahometans, where the English had a factory.., On 9.4.32 Moore accompanied Hugh Hamilton, who was being sent upriver to settle a factory at Fatatenda..., Moore remained on the Gambia until 8.4.35..., [when he returned home and] published a significant account of the Gambia" (Howgego M163).

"In July 1730, then employed as a writer in London, he entered the service of the Royal African Company, a chartered company with a royal monopoly of trade with west Africa, and was appointed a writer at James Fort, the company's local headquarters, near the mouth of the Gambia River. He remained in the company's service until 1735, was promoted to be a factor and eventually a chief factor, and served in most of the company's trading establishments (or factories) established along the banks of the river. During these years he kept a regular journal, recording an account of his official duties and the daily events of his life. These included anecdotes of his colleagues' vagaries in these isolated outstations, where many found solace only in heavy drinking. He, however, kept his mind alert by filling out his journal with detailed descriptions of the manners and customs of the African peoples he dealt with, and of the local flora and fauna, illustrating them with his own drawings, and including a rudimentary vocabulary of the Mandinka language.

Moore was also interested in the still unsolved mystery of the course of the Niger and its possible geographical relation to the Gambia. Though he did not himself venture beyond its already known reaches, which he estimated as 500 miles, double its real extent, on his return to England he collected together the various published sources on this theme, mostly dating from the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, adding the unpublished account of a voyage up the river by Bartholomew Stibbs in 1723. These he incorporated as an appendix to his own journal which he published in 1738 under the title Travels into the Inland Parts of Africa. In it he gave his readers the most comprehensive account of west African geography yet to appear in English which, with the similar compilation published by J. B. Labat in Paris in 1728, remained the most authoritative source until the publication of Mungo Park's Travels in 1799" (Oxford DNB).

$1950USD

75. Muenster , Sebastian (1488-1552)

Affricae Tabula Nova [New Map of Africa].

Basle, 1580. Wood block. 36 x 31cm (13 x 14.5 inches). Some restoration of margins and some minor soiling to lower corners, otherwise a very good map.

 

"This map could be regarded as coming from the second edition of Muenster: the addition of a portion of the coast of Portugal makes it recognisable as such. The technique of the drawing is different from the Muenster woodcuts of Africa. The coastline is jagged, with prominent bays, there are many large lakes and rivers and the geography is somewhat fictitious except for certain well-known places and rivers. There are two small sailing vessels and one sea monster. The left lower cartouche is a simple rectangular, slightly ornamented box containing the title in a florid calligraphy which is also used for the place names" (Norwich 14).

$675USD

76. Myers , Arthur B. R.

Life with the Hamran Arabs. An Account of a Sporting Tour of some Officers of the Guards in the Soudan During the Winter of 1874-5.

London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1876. First Edition. Octavo. xv, [i], 355, [2] pp. With a mounted photograph frontispiece and four other mounted photograph plates. Original publishers' green pictorial gilt cloth. Extremities with minor wear, otherwise a very good copy.

A surgeon in the Coldstream Guards, Myers embarked on a sporting expedition to the lands of the Hamrans, renowned as elephant hunters. In the remote regions beyond the town of Kassala, his hunting party encountered lion and elephant with Myers trying to bag the latter by moonlight. Crossing the Setit River, they enjoyed considerable sport after rhino, buffalo, hippo, and numerous engagements with lions. They also bagged bushback, kudu, dik-dik, and other plains game. A difficult title to locate, this also features mounted plates from photographs by Rowland Ward" (Czech, African p.121); Hill p.8; Ibrahim-Hilmy II, p.55; Kalfatovic 0691.

$1250USD

77. Owen , Captain W[illiam]. F[itzwilliam]. W[entworth] (1774-1857)

Narrative of Voyages to Explore the Shores of Africa, Arabia, and Madagascar; Performed in H. M. Ships Leven and Barracouta, Under the Direction of Captain W. F. W. Owen, R.N. By Command of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty.

London: Richard Bentley, 1833. First Edition. Octavo, 2 vols. xxiii, 434; viii, 420 pp. With five lithographed plates, four large folding engraved charts and five wood-engraved illustrations in text. Period brown gilt tooled half calf with brown patterned cloth boards and brown gilt morocco labels. Plates mildly foxed, otherwise a very good set.

 

"In 1822 [Owen] was appointed by the Admiralty to command an expedition to survey the coast of East Africa. Remarkably, because no particular European nation had until that time felt a necessity for accurate charts, none existed. The survey team, with their flagship HMS Leven and support vessel Barracouta, started out in January 1822 and worked their way eastwards from Cape Town, then along the coast of Mozambique and the western coast of Madagascar.., Owen's charts remained in use for nearly a century and his remarks were still being reproduced in the Africa Pilot as late as 1893" (Howgego 1800-1850, O11). This voyage "is chiefly known for [its] highly accurate surveys, many of which formed the basis of the charts that were used well into the twentieth century" (Christies).

"Owen was appointed in 1821 to the sloop Leven, in which, with the brig Barracouta also under his command, he was instructed to survey the east coast of Africa from the boundary of Cape Colony to Cape Gardafui. The squadron arrived at Simonstown in July 1822, and returned there from their last surveying season in September 1825, having surveyed some 20,000 miles of coast, depicted in almost 300 charts" (Oxford DNB); "The journals of Captain Owen and his officers.., contain a large amount of varied information respecting many portions of Africa in the first quarter of the nineteenth century" (Mendelssohn II, p. 133); NMMC 221.

$2250USD

78. Park , Mungo (1771-1806)

Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa: performed in the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797. With an Account of a Subsequent Mission to that Country in 1805. To which is added an Account of the Life of Mr. Park. A New Edition. With an Appendix Containing Illustrations of Africa by Major Rennell.

London: John Murray, 1816-1815. New Edition, Most Complete. Quarto, 2 vols. xviii, [ii], 458; xvii, [i], 373 pp. With a portrait frontispiece, five other copper engraved plates and four folding engraved maps (two outline hand colored). Later period style brown gilt tooled quarter calf with brown cloth boards and brown gilt morocco labels. A near fine set.

 

Park "was the first of modern Europeans to reach the well-nigh fabulous waters of the Niger" (Cox I, p.395-6). "In 1794 Park offered his services to the African Association, the intention being to follow the route pioneered by Daniel Houghton across West Africa in an attempt to reach the River Niger.., His offer was accepted and it was decided to recruit fifty more men to act as his escort. Impatient to depart, however, Park sailed alone, telling his brother that there was no doubt that he would "acquire a greater name than any ever did." He took with him a letter of credit for 200 pounds and an introduction to a fellow Scot, Dr. John Laidley, who ran a slave-trading post on the Gambia River and had seen Houghton off on his fatal journey.., After following Houghton's route to Medina he diverted slightly northward to Kayes and reached Simbing where he was shown the site of Houghton's death. At Jarra, Park entered the Moorish kingdom of Ludamar, where he was subjected to every kind of abuse.., Robbed of his last possessions, he eventually succeeded in entering Bambara country to the southeast, where the natives were fortunately friendly. Having joined a group of refugees travelling east, he reached Segou on the River Niger, where he was at last able to confirm that the river flowed towards the east. Induced to leave Segou, he continued northeast along the Niger, travelling through Sansanding and reaching the village of Silla. At Silla he decided to make his way back.., Warmly received in London, Park, spent the next year writing his immensely popular Travels into the Interior of Africa .., In September 1804 he was summoned to London to organize a new expedition.., The expedition traced the earlier return route as far as Bamako, then descended the Niger as far as Bussa (in Nigeria). There, with Lieutenant Martyn and two soldiers, he died (April 1806?) by drowning during a native attack" (Howgego P21).

"Together with Bryan Edwards, the secretary of the African Association, Park drew up a draft account of his travels for the members of the association. James Rennell added a map which showed the Niger flowing eastward (as Park had seen it) and petering out into a vast swamp. Park then returned to Selkirk and wrote up the draft for publication. His Travels , published in 1799, was a best-seller. Three editions were printed during the first year, and it was immediately translated into French and German, and eventually other languages. Written in a straightforward, unpretentious, narrative style, it gave readers their first realistic description of everyday life in west Africa, depicted without the censorious, patronizing contempt which so often has disfigured European accounts of Africa. For though Park disliked what he perceived as the superstitions of paganism and the bigotry of Islam, and regretted that 200 years of acquaintance with Europeans had left them totally ignorant of Christianity, he presented the people he met as people basically like himself. Having shared their activities, he recorded their joys and sorrows sympathetically, admiring what he thought admirable, and deploring what he thought deplorable. In it he comes over personally as an attractively modest figure, anxious to impart information but without making it boring or pedantic, and making light of his recollected adventures. The volume included as appendices a Mandinka vocabulary, Rennell's comments on the apparent implications of his geographical discoveries, and a women's song he had recorded, turned into verse by the duchess of Devonshire, and printed with accompanying music by G. G. Ferrari.., Park's death put a stop to the quest for the Niger until after the Napoleonic wars, and it was 1830 before the Landers finally reached its mouth. But his story caught popular imagination, particularly in Scotland. Tall and handsome, practical, adventurous and aspiring, but at the same time unassuming and rather reserved in manner, he seemed an exemplar of Scottish virtues" (Oxford DNB).

$1950USD

79. Pinto , Ferna~o Mendes (ca.1509-1583)

Peregrinac¸ao~ de Fernao~ Mendes Pinto e por elle escritta que consta de muytas, e muyto estranhas cousas, que vio, & ouvio no reyno da China, no da Tartaria, no de Pegu´, no de Martavao~, & em outros muytos reynos, & senhorios das partes orientaes ... E agora novamente correcta, e acrecentada com o Itenerario de Antonio Tenreyro, que da India veyo por terra a este reyno de Portugal, em que se conte´m a viagem, & jornada que fez no dito caminho, & outras muytas terras, & cidades, onde esteve antes de fazer esta jornada, & os trabalhos que em esta peregrinac¸ao~ passou no anno de mil & quinhentos & [The Voyages and Adventures, of Fernand Mendez Pinto, a Portugal: During his Travels for the space of one and twenty years in the Kingdoms of Ethiopia, China, Tartaria, Cauchin-China, Calaminham, Siam, Pegu, Japan, and a great part of the East-Indiaes. With a Relation and Description of most of the Places thereof].

Lisboa: na officina Ferreyrinana, 1725. Expanded & Corrected Portuguese Fourth Edition. Small Folio. [iv], 468 pp. Very handsome period style brown elaborately gilt tooled full calf. A near fine copy.

Very Rare as only one copy found in Worldcat. This edition with "Breve discurso, em que se conta a conquista do reino de Pegu…" (p. 435-458). This is a translation from the Spanish of Manuel d'Abreu Mousinho on the conquest of Pegu (Burma) in 1600 which is not present in the first and second editions.

 

Pinto was a Portuguese explorer whose "exploits are known through the posthumous publication of his memoir Pilgrimage (Portuguese: Peregrinação) in 1614. In the course of his travels in the Middle and Far East, Pinto visited Ethiopia, the Arabian Sea, China (where he claimed to have been a forced laborer on the Great Wall), India and Japan. He claimed to have been among the first group of Europeans to visit Japan and initiate the Nanban trade period. He also claimed to have introduced the gun there in 1543. It is known that he funded the first Christian church in Japan, after befriending a Catholic missionary and founding member of the Society of Jesus later known as St Francis Xavier" (Wikipedia). Upon returning to Portugal, Pinto wrote "his famous Peregrinacao, now regarded as one of the finest travel books of all time" (Howgego P99). "It is, moreover, a classic record of the experiences and observations of one of the earliest Europeans to penetrate into the interior of oriental countries, which, in that era, were practically unknown. He was the first European to enter Japan (in 1542), seven years before Saint Francis Xavier, the Apostle of the Indies" (Cox I, p. 324).

$3250USD

80. Rankin , F. Harrison

T he White Man's Grave, Autograph Manuscript By the Author of Chapter One: Arrival latter published in The White Man's Grave: A Visit to Sierra Leone was Published London: Richard Bentley & Son, 1836 in two Volumes.

Freetown, Sierra Leone (?), 1836. 12 Leaves. Pages: ca. 25 x 20.5 cm (10 x 8 inches) each. The manuscript is in very good condition and written in a legible hand.

 

These manuscript pages correspond to Chapter One of the work ("Arrival"), vol. 1, pp.[1]-20, with very minor corrections and additions. Rankin gives his first (and detailed) impressions of the people and the place, the effects of the heat, the infestation of insects, local activity such as a bustling market. He comments on the "aristocratic" bearing of the "free black men of Freetown". He concludes climactically with a brief description of a white lady being taken to the cemetery, adding: "This, thought I, is indeed Sierra Leone, the European's grave."In his Preface, Rankin reveals his motives in writing a comprehensive book about "a colony little visited". He wishes to make people better informed and less prejudiced about an area which has played (and still did) an important role in putting an end to the Slave Trade and which became "foster-mother" to liberated slaves. He believes this role should continue despite the expense.

Other subjects within the larger work include: the history of the region; surrounding nations; colonisation; slaves and slavery; Freetown; settlers; the Maroons; Foulahs and Mandingos; white population; manufactures and trade; the Kroomen; communications; food and drink; agriculture; position of women; the law; education; music and dancing; former explorers; the "Banana Islands"; the coast and inland; health and the climate; native customs. He concludes with extensive hints to travellers and an appendix containing statistics about languages, This chapter is described as missing in the description of the rest of the manuscript at a Sotheby's sale in 1963 (from the Bentley Estate).

$3750USD

81. Read , Lieut[enant] R. P.

Geographical Plan of the Island & Forts of Saint Helena is Dedicated by Permission to Field Marshal His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent and Strathhearn.

London: Burgis & Barefoot et al., October 1815. First Edition. 45 x 59 cm (17.5 x 22.5 inches). Original hand colored linen-backed segmented folding map, with "A Descriptive Sketch of Saint Helena" pasted on the verso of map and housed in the original blue-gray card slipcase with printed label. With a couple of very mild minor stains and small worm holes, otherwise a very good copy.

 

A highly attractive early map of the island published one month after Napoleon's confinement, but already taking advantage of his fame in adding his facsimile signatures. "1st state of this bird's-eye plan of the island with Plantation House erroneously identified as The Residence of Bonaparte, north oriented to the lower left, title at upper right, Napoleon's facsimile signatures as First Consul and Emperor at lower right, detailed interior of the island, with ships and spouting whales around" (Bloomsbury).

"In 1815 the British government selected Saint Helena as the place of detention of Napoleon Bonaparte. He was brought to the island in October 1815 and lodged at Longwood, where he died on 5 May 1821. During this period, St Helena remained in the East India Company's possession, but the British government met additional costs arising from guarding Napoleon. The island was strongly garrisoned with British troops, and naval ships circled the island. The 1817 census recorded 821 white inhabitants, a garrison of 820 men, 618 Chinese indentured labourers, 500 free blacks and 1,540 slaves. In 1818, Governor Hudson Lowe initiated the emancipation of the slaves" (Wikipedia).

$1250USD

82. Reade , Sir Thomas (1785-1849)

Two Documents: Being the instructions to George William Crowe to act on the Bey's behalf "in all such matters as may be for the service of His Highness & particularly to treat for a loan for his use"; [With] a separate Italian translation of the document signed by Hassuna Morali, First Interpreter of the Court of His Highness the Basha Bey of Tunis, further certified as genuine and signed overleaf by the British Consul General, Sir Thomas Reade with the impressed seal of the British Consul General's Office Tunis; [With] the Original Document in Arabic bearing the ink seal of the Bey of Tunis.

Tunis, 11th August 1828. 2 leaves each. Each approx. 34 x 23cm (12.5 x 8.5 inches) Each folded and consisting of two leaves. The Documents are in good condition.

 

Sir Thomas Reade, the British Consul at Tunis whose signature appears on one of these documents, played an important role in the abolition of slavery. Reade was Deputy Adjutant-General on St. Helena during Napoleon's captivity and a zealous supporter of Government policy. He was present at Napoleon's post-mortem and left a valuable account of it preserved in the Lowe Papers.

$1250USD

83. Richardson , Robert (1779-1847)

Travels Along the Mediterranean, and parts adjacent; in Company with the Earl of Belmore, during the Years 1816-17-18: extending as far as the Second Cataract of the Nile, Jerusalem, Damascus, Balbec, &c. &c.

London: T. Cadell, 1822. First Edition. Octavo, 2 vols. xiv, 536; v, 527 pp. With six lithographed plates, one hand colored, and two folding plans. Period blue and beige papered boards. Rebacked in style with printed paper labels, otherwise a near fine set.

"In 1816 he joined the party of Somerset Lowry Corry, second earl of Belmore, in a two-year tour through Europe, Egypt, and Palestine. While in Albania they had two interviews with Ali Pasha at Yanina. Having visited the pyramids and many places of interest on the Nile, as far as the second cataract, the party went on to Palestine, reaching Gaza in April 1818. Richardson claims to have been the first Christian traveller admitted to Solomon's mosque. At Tiberias the group were visited by Lady Hester Stanhope. Richardson's Travels were published in two volumes in 1822, with plans and engravings, to mixed reviews. Lady Blessington lent Byron the book, and he highly commended it, saying: ‘The author is just the sort of man I should like to have with me for Greece—clever, both as a man and a physician' (Blessington, 330-31)"(Oxford DNB). "In 1816 [Richardson] joined the Earl of Belmore for a two-year tour through Europe, Egypt and Palestine" (Howgego 1800-1850, E4); "The work is mostly on Egypt" (Atabey II, 1041); "The Plates show paintings from Egyptian tombs" (Blackmer Sale 951); Weber II, 118.

$1750USD

84. Rogers , Captain Woodes (c.1679-1732)

A Cruising Voyage Round the World; First to the South Seas Thence to the East Indies and Homewards By the Cape of Good Hope Begun in 1708 and Finish'd in1711. Containing a journal of all the remarkable transactions; particularly, of the taking of Puna and Guiaquil, of the Acapulco ship, and of Other Prizes; an Account of Alexander Selkirk's Living Alone four Years and four Months in an Island; and a Brief Description of Several Countries in our Course Noted for Trade, Especially in the South-Sea. With Maps of all the Coast, from the best Spanish manuscript draughts. And an Introduction Relating to the South-Sea Trade.

London: A. Bell and B. Lintot, 1718. Second Corrected Edition. Octavo. xix, 428, 57, [7] pp. 5 folding copper engraved maps. Handsome period brown elaborately gilt tooled panelled full calf. Rebacked in style, and with some faded ink lines on bottom margin of first two leaves (not affecting text), otherwise a very good copy.

 

"The book has been called a "Buccaneering classic." It is a work of great interest and possesses a quaint humor that renders it delightful reading" (Cox I p.46). "Roger's account is considered a buccaneering classic. With William Dampier as pilot, Captain Woodes Rogers' privateering expedition set sail from Bristol. After sailing down the coast of Brazil and rounding Cape Horn, he made for the deserted island of Juan Fernandez, to seek shelter from a severe storm. There, Rogers rescued the celebrated Alexander Selkirk, a Scot who had been marooned several years before by Captain Stradling during Dampier's earlier voyage, and who has been immortalized as the prototype for Daniel Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe.' An account of Selkirk's true adventures is given. The expedition then cruised the coast of Peru, taking various prizes, reached California, and crossed the Pacific to Asia. The high point of this circumnavigation was the capture of the Manila Galleon, in 1709, at Puerto Seguro" (Hill 1779).

"Rogers arrived in Cape Town on December 27, 1710, and gives a .., description of the Cape of Good Hope" (Mendelssohn II, p243). "The rounding of the Horn, vividly described by Rogers, proved dangerous, the ships being driven by a violent storm far to the south. Because of the extreme cold they headed for Juan Fernandez, which they reached on 31 January 1709. On the morning of 2 February some of the crew were sent ashore, and as they approached a man ‘clothed in goatskins' (Rogers, 91) was seen gesticulating wildly to them. This was Alexander Selkirk, a former crewman of Dampier's, who had been marooned there for more than four years. Selkirk's story was revealed to the world in Rogers's Cruising Voyage, and his adventures formed the basis of Daniel Defoe's romantic Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719" (Oxford DNB); Howes R421 (points out that Captain Edward Cooke also contributed to this account); Howgego R61; Sabin 72754.

$3250USD

85. Rohlfs , Gerhard (1831-1896)

Drei Monate in der Libyschen Wüste. Mit Beiträgen von P. Ascherson, W. Jordan und K. Zittel. [Three Months in the Libyan Desert].

Kassel: Theodor Fischer, 1875. First Edition. Octavo. [xii], 340 pp. With sixteen tipped in original photographs from Remele, eleven lithographs (some folding), eighteen wood engravings. Bound without the large folding map. Original red decorative pictorial gilt cloth. Recased and plates mildly foxed, otherwise a very good copy.

 

"This well-planned enterprise was intended to provide detailed information on the Sahara, its inhabitants, geography and botany, and was backed by a team of eminent scientists. From Asyut in December 1873 Rohlfs followed the caravan route to the Farafra Oasis, then the next year proceeded to the oasis of Dakhla. From there he struck south-southwest into the sand desert for about 150 kilometers, turned north-northwest and after an epic crossing of the Great sand sea, which he was the first European to penetrate, arrived back at the Siwa oasis. Returning to Dakhla by a safer and more easterly route, he passed through the oasis of El Kharga to reach the Nile at Esneh in April 1874" (Howgego, Continental Exploration 1850-1940, R28).

$975USD

86. Rosamel , French Naval Minister Claude Charles Marie du Campe de (1774-1848)

A Significant Archive of Eleven Autographed Letters Signed "Rosamel" most from Rosamel's Time as French Naval Minister. The Letters, Most on Ministre de la Marine et des Colonies Letterhead and all from Paris, are All Addressed to l'Avocat General Joseph Pierre Chassan and Discuss Governmental, Political and Maritime Issues and Events Related to Rosamel's Naval Service and are Dated from the 19th of March 1834 to the 29th of September 1841.

Paris, 1834-1841. Eleven Letters: many folded and from one to four pages long.pp. Letters from octavo to quarto in size. Letters in good to near fine condition.

 

This is an interesting and important archive of letters of one of the leading naval figures of the 19th Century. Of particular interest is the repeated discussion of French interests in Algiers and Senegal. During his time as French Naval Minister he was in charge of the scientific voyages of Dumont-D'Urville, Dupetit-Thouars and Gaimard.

"Claude Charles Marie du Campe de Rosamel served as French naval minister from September 6, 1836 until March 31, 1839. During his administration, several national scientific voyages were launched, most notably that of the Astrolabe to the Magellan Straits and Antarctica. It was during this voyage that an island was named in his honour. It was subsequently renamed Andersson Island" (Wikipedia).

$5250USD

87. Salt , Henry (1780-1827)

The Obelisk at Axum.

London: William Miller, Jan. 1, 1809. ca.45 x 60 cm (18 x 25 inches). Hand colored aquatint drawn by Henry Salt and engraved by D.Havell. The edges of the aquatint are slightly chipped but not affecting the printed area, otherwise a very good copy.

Plate No. XX. from Henry Salt's ' Twenty-Four Views in St. Helena, The Cape, India, Ceylon, The Red Sea, Abyssinia and Egypt '. Henry Salt accompanied Lord Valentia on a diplomatic mission to counteract Napoleon's efforts in Egypt. "On 20 June 1802 Salt left England on an eastern tour, as secretary and draughtsman to Viscount Valentia (later the earl of Mountnorris). He visited India, Ceylon, and the Red Sea, and in 1805 was sent by Valentia on a mission into Abyssinia, to the ras of Tigré, whose affection and respect he gained, and with whom he left one of his party, Nathaniel Pearce. The return to England in 1806 was made by way of Egypt, where he first met the pasha, Mehmet Ali. Lord Valentia's Travels in India (1809) was partly written and completely illustrated by Salt, who published his own 24 Views in St Helena, India and Egypt in the same year" (Oxford DNB).

 

"The Obelisk of Axum (also called the Rome Stele) is a 1,700-year-old, 24-metres (78-foot) tall granite stele/obelisk, weighing 160 tonnes, in the city of Axum in Ethiopia. It is decorated with two false doors at the base, and decorations resembling windows on all sides. The "obelisk" ends in a semicircular top part, which used to be enclosed by metal frames" (Wikipedia). The Obelisk of Axum was removed from Ethopia by Italian soldiers but returned there in 2005.

$1500USD

88. Seutter , George Matthaus (1678-1757)

[Map of Africa] Africa Juxta Navigationes et Observationes Recentissimas Aucta, Correcta et in Sua Regna et Status Divisa in Lucem Edita.

Augsburg: Engraved by Gottfried Rogg, 1728. Copper Engraving. 49 x 57 cm (19.5 x 23 inches). Original full color. Original centre fold. A near fine map.

 

"This map of Africa was published by George Matthaus Seutter, a German cartographer and publisher of Augsburg. In the lower left corner is a large decorative title cartouche engraved by Gottfried Rogg, with natives, pyramids, animals, lighthouses and ships. Although all the decorative animals have disappeared from the mainland the enormous lakes are shown in Central Africa and the information about the southern extremity of the continent is largely fictitious. The Nile is shown not only originating in the south at lakes Zaire and Zaflan, but also continuing further south, and the Abyssinian province of Amhara is shown in the kingdom of Monomotapa. This map is in fact crowded with erroneous detail" (Norwich 80).

$875USD

89. Slatin Pasha , Sir Rudolf Carl von (1857-1932)

Autograph Letter Signed "R. Slatin" Dated Cairo 28.3.95 to Richard Bentley in regards to "the publication of his experiences during his captivity in the Sudan. He has already received a number of applications from both English and Continental publishing firms, but at the present stage he is not in a position to make any definite plans he wants, however, to thank Mr. Bentley for his kind proposal."

Cairo, 1895. Octavo. 4 pages. Letter approx. 21 x13 cm (8 x 5 inches) The letter is written in a legible hand and in very good condition.

This interesting letter was written just after Slatin Pasha's escape. His account was eventually published in London by Edward Arnold in 1896.

 

"Slatin's career in the Sudan covered thirty-six eventful years. He started in January 1879 in the finance department as an inspector with the rank of a bimbashi (the Turkish equivalent of a major). Later that year he was appointed governor of Dara, in south-western Darfur, and after less than a year became governor-general of the whole province. In his major publication Fire and Sword in the Sudan (1896) Slatin was vague about his duties in Darfur. However, his life as governor-general was soon disrupted by Muhammad Ahmad ibn ‘Abdullahi, who in June 1881 declared himself the Mahdi of the Sudan. Soon the Mahdi and his followers (ansar) escaped from Aba Island, on the White Nile, to the Nuba Mountains and Slatin became actively involved in the uprising. Many of the tribal and religious leaders in Darfur joined the Mahdi. Slatin led his troops in numerous battles against the Mahdist forces and lost many soldiers. In January 1883 al-‘Ubayd, capital of Kordofan, fell into Mahdist hands and Darfur was cut off from Khartoum. Slatin decided ‘nominally to adopt the Mohammedan religion' since he was told by his Egyptian and Sudanese followers that they had lost confidence in his ability, as a Christian, to win the war against the Mahdi. ‘I am not a foreigner, I am not an unbeliever', he responded, ‘I am as much a believer as you "I bear witness that there is no God but God and Mohammed is his Prophet' (Slatin, 216-17). However, disastrous defeats at the battle of Shaykan in November 1883 and the fall of al-Fasher, capital of Darfur, convinced Slatin to surrender. He sent a letter to the Mahdi in al-‘Ubayd declaring his submission and in December 1883 he and his troops surrendered at Dara. Slatin was renamed ‘Abd al-Qadir Salatin, a name he carried thereafter.

From 1884 to 1895 Slatin was a prisoner, first of the Mahdi and, following his death in 1885, of Caliph ‘Abdullahi al-Ta ‘aishi. After a brief period in Dara, where he was allowed to live in his old house and keep his servants, Slatin was ordered to join the Mahdi's camp at al-‘Ubayd and to take part in the march to Khartoum. During the siege of Khartoum, Slatin was asked by the Mahdi to write on his behalf to General Gordon and seek his surrender. Slatin, according to his account, attempted to explain to Gordon the circumstances of his conversion to Islam and to justify his surrender. Gordon was willing to forgive Slatin's surrender but not his conversion to Islam. After the Mahdi's death Slatin became the caliph's orderly, and was entrusted with confidential administrative and financial duties. He described the caliph as a ‘cruel beast' and accused him of brutalities, but failed to mention how kindly he and some of the other European prisoners were treated. During this period Slatin apparently had two wives, Hassaniyyah, a Fur girl he brought with him when he surrendered to the Mahdi in December 1883, and an Abyssinian, Desta, who bore him a child shortly after his escape from Omdurman in 1895; the child died after a few weeks (Neufeld, 206-7). He left both women behind when he escaped in 1895" (Oxford DNB).

$1750USD

90. Snelgrave , Captain William

A New Account of Some Parts of Guinea and the Slave Trade, Containing: I. The history of the late conquest of the kingdom of Whidaw by the king of Dahome ... II. The manner how the negroes become slaves ... III. A relation of the author's being taken by pirates, and the many dangers he underwent.

London: James, John, & Paul Knapton, 1734. First Edition. Octavo. [xxiv] , 288 pp. With a copper engraved folding map of the west coast of Africa (perhaps map variant?). Handsome period style dark brown gilt tooled half morocco with marbled boards and red gilt morocco label. Some pages mildly browned and foxed, otherwise a very good copy.

"A slave trader's general yet vivid account of his experiences as captain of a number of ships sailing the England-Guinea-West Indies route" (Bell S359). "This is an interesting work by one of the old slave trader. The author gives a vivid picture of the capture of his vessel" (Cox I p.375). "William Snelgrave, Captain of the slaver Bird Gallery whose vessel was seized by the pirates, Captain Cocklyn and Captain Davis, off Sierra Leone on 1.4. 1719" (Howgego F58). "Snelgrave was a slave-trader who in 1719 succeeded in transporting 600 slaves from the Gulf of Guinea to the West Indies" (Christies); Kress 4197; Sabin 85380. This account largely based on voyages the author made in 1727 and 1730 to Whydah and Jakin, offers an important account of the kingdom of Dahomey (now Benin).

$2250USD

91. Sonnini , (de Manoncourt), C[harles] N[icolas] (1751-1812)

Voyage Dans la Haute et Basse Egypte. [Travels in Upper and Lower Egypt].

Paris: F. Buisson, An VII [1799]. First Edition. Text Octavo 3 vols.&Folio Atlas. [iv], vii, [i], 425, [3]; [ii], 417; [ii], 424; [2] pp. Atlas with a copper engraved portrait frontispiece, 38 other copper engravings (two folding) and a large folding engraved map by Tardieu after D'Anville. Period brown gilt titled papered boards. Extremities rubbed and spines mildly sunned, remains of a small private library label on volume one, otherwise a very good set.

 

This expedition was made with the intention of collecting rare Egyptian birds, however Sonnini includes some unusual and fascinating details of native life and customs such as female and male circumcision and homosexuality, leprosy and other diseases, serpent eating etc. "Sonnini set out with baron de Tott's expedition in 1777. On arrival at Alexandria he found orders to explore Egypt from Louis XVI awaiting him" (Blackmer Collection 1006); Atabey 1155. This work relates to various subjects "with the utmost candor: such as Egyptian female circumcision, serpent eating, Egyptian lesbianism, women's cosmetics..," (Cox I, p.395); Gay 2250; Howgego S135; Ibrahim-Hilmy 245. "A naturalist, Sonnini de Manoncourt traveled extensively through Egypt (from Alexandria to Aswan), making notes on the flora and fauna, the customs of the people, and only incidentally, the antiquities.., Illustrated with excellent engravings, mostly of fish and birds" (Kalfatovic 0158).

$2950USD

92. Sparrman , Anders (1748-1820)

Resa till Goda Hopps-Udden, Södra Pol-kretsen och Omkring Jordklotet, samt till Hottentott- och Caffer-landen, åren 1772-76 [A Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope, towards the Antarctic Polar Circle and Round the World: But Chiefly into the Country of the Hottentots and Caffres, from the year 1772, to 1776].

Stockholm: Anders J. Nordstrom, 1783. First Edition. Octavo. xv, 766 pp. With nine copper engraved plates and one copper engraved folding map. Handsome period style brown gilt tooled half sheep with marbled boards. A near fine copy.

 

"This is the first volume of Sparrman's account of his travels in South Africa and of his voyage with Cook in the Resolution 1772-5. "It is the most interesting and most trustworthy account of the Cape Colony and the various races then residing in it, that was published before the beginning of the 19th century" (G. M. Theal). This volume deals mainly with South Africa, but a resume of the voyage with Cook is inserted on pp. 86-108.., The second volume (in two parts) was not published until 1802 and 1818" (Du Rietz Cook 10).

Sparrman "sailed for the Cape of Good Hope in January 1772 to take up a post as a tutor. When James Cook arrived there later in the year at the start of his second voyage, Sparrman was taken on as assistant naturalist to Johann and Georg Forster. After the voyage he returned to Cape Town in July 1775 and practiced medicine, earning enough to finance a journey into the interior" (Wikipedia). Sparrman "frequently draws attention to the inaccuracies to be met with in Kolbe's account of the Cape, and throws considerable doubt on the veracity of many of his statements" (Mendelssohn II, p.414-5); Hill 1615; Howgego S154.

$3250USD

93. Speke , John Hanning (1827-1864)

Journal of the Discovery of the Source of the Nile.

Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood & Sons, 1863. First Edition with the Ownership Inscription of William Speke (John Hanning's Father). Octavo. xxxi, 658 , [32] pp . With a steel engraved portrait frontispiece, one other steel engraved portrait, and over 70 wood engravings on plates and in text, one large folding color map in rear pocket, and one other map. 19th Century brown gilt tooled polished full calf with a gilt olive sheep label. Recased, otherwise a very good copy.

From the Speke Estate with the ownership inscription of William Speke (1798-1886), father of John Hanning Speke.

 

After traveling with Burton and discovering Africa's two greatest lakes, Tanganyika and Victoria, Speke made plans to return to Africa and explore his theory that Lake Victoria was the source of the Nile. This volume describes his expedition, this time partnered with James Augustus Grant, his former companion in Asia. Making their way inland from Zanzibar on the East coast, they traced a river out of Lake Victoria down into Uganda and the Sudan. Problems with local tribes and tribal warfare, however, caused Speke and Grant to leave the river a number of times, the key criticism levelled by critics such as Burton as to whether Speke had actually proved conclusively that Lake Victoria was the source of the Nile. Back in England, Speke and Burton were set to debate the issue when Speke was killed in a hunting accident, although rumours of suicide persisted. This volume describes one of the most famous and important expeditions in African exploration history.

"Although the RGS offered Burton the chance to return to east Africa, their first priority for an expedition was clearly to send Speke back to prove his Nile claims. They obtained £2500 from the government and raised a public subscription of £1200 to enable the Nile ivory trader John Petherick to meet Speke with supplies at Gondokoro on the upper Nile. J. A. Grant was invited to join Speke.., The expedition left the coast in September 1860 with 176 men, including Bombay and Baraka, two former slaves who had learned Hindi and so could act as interpreters and negotiators for Speke.., By May 1863 the explorers, with eighteen remaining ‘faithfuls' from the porters, had reached Cairo and let the world know that the Nile was 'settled'" (Oxford DNB); Howgego Continental Exploration 1850-1940 S54; Hess & Coger 417; Ibrahim-Hilmy II, p.255 (2nd Edition).

$4750USD

94. Stanley , Henry Morton (1841-1904)

Press Reviews of "Through the Dark Continent", 1878. [With] Reviews of the 'Congo' and the Founding of its Free State, Published May 1885.

London(?): Privately Printed(?), ca. 1885. First Edition. Quarto. 133; 11 7pp. Period black half sheep with black cloth boards and a manuscript paper label. A very good copy.

Very Rare works as no copies of each found in Worldcat. The manuscript title of the paper spine label "My Printed Speeches & Letters" alludes to the probability that this is from H.M. Stanley's own personal library. These two works consist of an assortment of reviews and press releases by The Standard, Daily Telegraph, Hampshire Advertiser, Sheffield & Rotherham Independent, The Athenaeum, The Graphic, The Scotsman, Liverpool Mercury and The Pall Mall Gazette etc.

 

"The violence which accompanied Stanley's expedition gave rise to controversy in the British press. His attempts at self-justification for the punishment of the Bumbiri were challenged: ‘He has no concern with justice, no right to administer it; he comes with no sanction, no authority, no jurisdiction nothing but explosive bullets and a copy of the Daily Telegraph' (Saturday Review, 16 Feb 1878). His expedition was said by some to amount to exploration by warfare: ‘Exploration under these conditions is, in fact, exploration plus buccaneering, and though the map may be improved and enlarged by the process, the cause of civilisation is not a gainer thereby, but a loser' (Pall Mall Gazette, 11 Feb 1878). John Kirk, the Zanzibar consul, launched a discreet enquiry in 1878, and concluded in a confidential report that ‘if the story of this expedition were known it would stand in the annals of African discovery unequalled for the reckless use of power that modern weapons placed in his hands over natives who never before heard a gun fired' (1 May 1878, Foreign Office papers, TNA: PRO).

But these misgivings were to be swamped by numerous tributes to Stanley's success in solving the remaining mysteries of African geography. On his return to Paris and London at the end of 1877, leading figures in geographical societies across Europe were lavish in their praise. In February 1878 he addressed the Royal Geographical Society twice, stubbornly defending his record against ‘soft, sentimental, sugar-and-honey, milk-and-water kind of talk' (PRGS, 22, 1878, 145). His two-volume work Through the Dark Continent , published in June 1878, became another best-seller. Nevertheless, the controversy added to Stanley's disillusionment with the British government, which was lukewarm about his schemes to further the commercial penetration of the Congo region..,

Although it did not involve any significant geographical discoveries, Stanley considered his work on the Congo to be among the most important of his life. His book The Congo and the Founding of its Free State (2 vols., 1885) promoted what he called the ‘gospel of enterprise' (2.377), emphasizing both the commercial potential of the region and the hard labour necessary to exploit it. He revelled in the name Bula Matari, portraying his aim in the Congo as nothing less than the conquest of nature. On his return, however, Stanley found himself a small player in a much larger game of international diplomacy, culminating in the Berlin Congress of 1884-5, at which he acted as an adviser to the American delegation. The establishment of the Congo Free State, a territory of nearly 1 million square miles which Stanley had done much to secure, was one of the most significant events in the history of the so-called ‘scramble for Africa'. Subsequent events were to show that Leopold's ambitions were not quite so philanthropic as Stanley represented them. But he denied to the last any responsibility for the atrocities that were to follow" (Oxford DNB).

$2250USD

95. Stanley , Henry Morton (1841-1904)

[Small Henry Morton Stanley Collection including: 1) Emin Pasha Relief Expedition 1887-1889 [Doulton Lambeth Commemorative Jug ca. 1890]; 2) First Edition of In Darkest Africa; or, The Quest, Rescue, and Retreat of Emin Governor of Equatoria ; 3) Ca. 1890 Note to Louis Rockafellar Signed Henry M. Stanley; 4) Ca. 1890 Original Cabinet Photo of H.M.Stanley From Stanley`s Estate; 5) Ca. 1890 Tinted Lithographed Print of Stanley Marching Through the Jungle Accompanied by his British Officers and Native Soldiers]

ca. 1890.

1) Commemorative jug in fine condition; approx. 20 x 13cm (8 x 5 inches), glazed in light and dark brown, front relief decorated with a portrait of Stanley within a wreath of leaves with the motto 'Out of Darkness into Light' below, vignettes to either side with the words 'Valour' and 'Enterprise' respectively, each vignette with the names of three officers (Valour: W. C. Stairs, R. H. Nelson, T. H. Parke; Wnterprise: E.M. Barttelot, W. Bonny, A.J. Mounteney-Jephson) who accompanied Stanley below. Numbered and stamped by manufacturer on base, Stock No: 147521;

2) In Darkest Africa. London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, 1890. First Edition. Octavo, 2 vols. xvi, 548; xvi, 540 pp. With 150 wood engravings on plates and in text, and 4 coloured maps, including 3 large, folding, and in pockets. Original publisher's brown very decorative pictorial gilt cloth. A very good set;

3) ca. 17 x 11 cm (7 x 4.5 inches) Note in fine condition;

4) ca. 17 x 11 cm (7 x 4.5 inches) Cabinet photo by Stromeyer & Heyman, Caire in fine condition;

5) 42 x 29 cm (17 x 11.5 inches) print with some wear, otherwise a good copy.

The Emin Pasha Relief "expedition ended in acrimony and controversy, but geographically speaking it should be reckoned the last great exploring venture in Africa" (Delpar, p.408). "Although Stanley was widely acclaimed as a hero on his return to Britain, the Emin Pasha relief expedition was far from a success. From the start, as even Sidney Low's sympathetic portrait in the Dictionary of National Biography records, ‘it was hampered by divided aims and inconsistent purposes'. Others went further in their criticism, Sir William Harcourt describing it as one of those ‘filibustering expeditions in the mixed guise of commerce, religion, geography and imperialism, under which names any and every guise of atrocity is regarded as permissible' (A. G. Gardiner, Life of Sir William Harcourt, 1923, 2.94)" (Oxford DNB).

$3950USD

96. Stanley , Henry Morton (1841-1904)

The American Testimonial Banquet to Henry M. Stanley. In recognition of his Heroic Achievements in the case of Humanity, Science & Civilization, and A Greeting to His Chief Officers, Portman Rooms, London May 30th 1890. The Hon. Ino. C. New Chairman & Geo. Shepard Page Esq. Vice Chairman. With a Signed Letter from Mouteney-Jephson and a tipped in Signature of H. M. Stanley.

London: Privately Printed, 1890. First Edition With a Signed Letter from Mouteney-Jephson and a tipped in Signature of H. M. Stanley. Large Octavo. Six leaves. Six mounted photographs including studio photos of Stanley, Lieutenant W. G. Stairs, Surgeon Thomas Heazle Parke, Captain Robert Henry Nelson, and Mr. A. J. Mounteney-Jephson. Extra illustrated with an original photograph of Stanley tipped onto the front free endpaper. Original blind stamped full calf, with the American Eagle atop star spangled arms with Stanley crossing the shield. Rebacked in style, otherwise a very good copy.

 

With a Signed Letter from Mouteney-Jephson and a tipped in Signature of H. M. Stanley.

Upon his return from the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition, Stanley was lionized and a Banquet was given in his honour and that of his officers. This is the leather-bound Program/Menu setting out he proceedings of that evening. Five pages printed text mounted on card. Following the title there is a list of the Committee members and the Honorary Stewards whose number included P.T. Barnum and James McNeil Whistler. The photographs of the Honoured Guests are followed by a description of the "Testimonial Shield," which in turn is followed by the menu and the toast list.

"The Emin Pasha Relief Expedition of 1886 to 1889 was one of the last major European expeditions into the interior of Africa in the nineteenth century, ostensibly to the relief of Emin Pasha, General Charles Gordon's besieged governor of Equatoria, threatened by Mahdist forces. Led by Henry Morton Stanley, the expedition came to be both celebrated, for its ambition in crossing "darkest Africa", and notorious, for the bloodshed and death left in its wake" (Wikipedia).

$3250USD

97. Thompson , Thomas (1708/9-1773)

An Account of Two Missionary Voyages by the Appointment of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. The one to New Jersey in North America, the other from America to the Coast of Guiney.

London: Benjamin Dod, 1758. First Edition. Octavo. [iv], 87 pp. Later brown full calf. A very good copy.

 

"Thompson's account of his proselytizing efforts in the American colonies and along the west coast of Africa on behalf of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. He was the first Anglican missionary to Africa, and two decades later wrote a defence of the slave trade at the behest of the S.P.G., which was active in the trade" (Christies). "Thompson published in 1758 An Account of Two Missionary Voyages, a lively narrative of his experiences. Then, when the abolition campaign began, he seems to have been asked by his former employers to write in their defence. As he had been for five years the employee of a company which was principally concerned with trading in slaves, and had associated in an always perfectly amicable way with their African suppliers and customers, it need be no surprise that he was ready to publish, in 1772, a thirty-one page pamphlet, The African trade for negro slaves shown to be consistent with principles of humanity and with the laws of revealed religion. He drew on the Bible to justify slavery, and also on African practice, remarking that: ‘The customs of the blacks are many of them good rules of policy, such as would not disgrace a more regular constitution' (Thompson, The African Trade, 25). His pamphlet elicited a few pages of angry retort from Granville Sharp, beginning: ‘For shame, Mr Thompson!' (Sharp, 29), incorporated in his The Just Limitation of Slavery (1776)" (Oxford DNB); Howes T203; Howgego F59; Sabin 95529.

$1250USD

98. Vannutelli , L. & Citerni, C. (1860-1897)

Seconda Spedizione Bottego. L'Omo. Viaggio D'Esplorazione Nell'Africa Orientale. Sotto gli auspici della Società Geografica Italiana [The Second Bottego Expedition. The Omo. Travels of Exploration in East Africa. Under the auspices of the Italian Geographic Society].

Milano: Ulrico Hoepli Editore, 1899. First Edition. Quarto. xvi, 650 pp. With 141 illustrations in text, eleven plates and nine maps, some folding. Handsome period style maroon gilt tooled straight-grained morocco with marbled boards. A very good copy.

"Vittorio Bottego was an Italian army officer and one of the first explorers of Jubaland in Africa (now part of Somalia), where he led two expeditions. In [t]his second expedition (1895-1897) he ventured in the still then unknown region of the upper Juba, Lake Rudolf and the Sobat, along the Omo River, trying to return passing through Ethiopia, then at war with Italy. There he found his death near Jellen in a battle with an Oromo tribe. His body was never found and his last story told years later by two of his companions, Vannutelli and Citerni, who survived the battle but were kept in prison for two years by Menelik II, emperor of Ethiopia" (Wikipedia); Howgego B60.

$675USD

99. Walckenaer , Charles Athanase (1771-1852)

Recherches Geographiques sur l'Interieur de l'Afrique Septentrionale, comprenant l'histoire des voyages entrepris ... Pour pe´ne´trer dans l'inte´rieur du Soudan; l'exposition des syste`mes ge´ographiques qu'on a formes sur cette contre´e; l'analyse de divers itine´raires Arabes pour de´terminer la position de Timbouctoo; et l'examen des connaissances des anciens relativement a` l'inte´rieur de l'Afrique: suivies d'un appendice, contenant divers itine´raires, traduits de l'Arabe par M. Le Baron Silvestre de Sacy et M. De La Porto, etc. [Geographical Treatise on the Interior of Northern Africa, including the history of travel undertaken until the Present].

Paris: Arthus Bertrand, 1821. First Edition. Octavo. 525 pp. With a large folding engraved map. Handsome period brown gilt tooled half calf with marbled boards. A very good copy.

A rare and early study of the known accounts of the western Sahara trade routes and Timbuctoo. Also an important analysis of the Arab caravan routes in the Western Sahara to try to accurately determine the position of Timbouctoo, with an appendix containing the routes analysed. Not in Gay. "In 1839 [Walckenaer] was appointed conservator for the Department of Maps at the Royal Library in Paris and in 1840 secretary for life in the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres. He was one of the founders of the Société entomologique de France in 1832" (Wikipedia).

$1250USD

100. Walsh , Thomas

Journal of the late Campaign in Egypt: including descriptions of that Country, and of Gibraltar, Minorca, Malta, Marmorice, and Macri; with an Appendix; containing Official Papers and Documents.

London: T. Cadell et al, 1803. First Edition. Quarto. 261 pp. (plus 145 pp. of appendix). Large folding coloured map frontispiece, with subscriber list, and 48 other maps, plans, hand-colored aquatints, and engravings, many folding. Handsome period brown gilt tooled polished full calf. Recased using original spine, otherwise a very good copy.

 

"Captain Walsh was aide-de-camp to Major-General Sir Eyre Coote of the 93rd Regiment of Foot, sent to Egypt from Gibraltar in 1800" (Blackmer Sale 1078); "A member of the British forces battling French forces in Egypt, Walsh gives some interesting accounts of battles" (Kalfatovic 0207). "All he aims to give is a simple narrative of the events that occurred, from the 24th of October 1800, the day on which sailing orders arrived in Gibraltar, to the final conquest of Egypt... To discuss the propriety of measures, reason on the consequences of incidents, and bestow praise where so much well-earned praise is unquestionably due"(preface). "Walsh was a member of the Anglo-Turkish military force which travelled overland through Asia Minor to Egypt"(Atabey 1317); Abbey Travel 266; Gay 2278; Ibrahim-Hilmy, p.318.

$1450USD

101. Werner , J.R.

A Visit to Stanley's Rear-Guard at Major Barttelot's [1859-1888], Camp on the Aruhwimi with an Account of River-Life on the Congo.

Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood & Sons, 1889. Signed Presentation First Edition. Octavo. xvi, [i], 337 pp. , (24) . Autotype portrait frontispiece, seventeen other plates, and one folding map. Original publisher's orange decorative pictorial gilt cloth. A near fine copy.

With inscription: "R.C. Wilson from J. R. Werner. 3 June 89."

 

"Barttelot came home on leave in the autumn of 1886, but in January 1887 received a year's extension in order to join the expedition to be led by Henry Morton Stanley in relief of Emin Pasha, an Austrian doctor who had become Gordon's governor of Equatoria in the southern Sudan. Emin had been isolated by the fall of Khartoum, and the expedition was mounted as a private commercial venture by the Imperial British East Africa Company acting through the Emin Pasha Relief Committee. Barttelot was one of seven successful applicants and was intended to command sixty-one Sudanese soldiers recruited for the expedition. He joined the expedition at Aden in February 1887, reaching Yambuya in June by way of Zanzibar, the Cape, and the Congo.

Tensions arose between Stanley and Barttelot, and he was left at Yambuya to command the rear column while Stanley pushed ahead to meet Emin. Contact was lost with Stanley, and Barttelot found it increasingly difficult to supply his force without resorting to coercion of the local population. Morale was affected by disease and by Barttelot's authoritarian manner, which alienated both his white subordinates and carriers recruited from Zanzibaris and the local Manyema. Barttelot regarded Africans with contempt, and maintained discipline by flogging and execution. Barttelot also failed to persuade Tippu Tip, an influential Arab slave dealer engaged by Stanley for the purpose, to provide more carriers. In June 1888 Barttelot set out to find Stanley, but many carriers deserted. Barttelot returned to negotiate with Tippu Tip, rejoining his party at Banalya on 17 July. The highly strung Barttelot had suffered repeated bouts of fever, leaving him suspicious of others and, conceivably, temporarily unbalanced. Barttelot's arrival at Banalya coincided with a noisy Manyema celebration, which exasperated him. On the morning of 19 July 1888 he went to remonstrate with a woman beating a drum. In the act of striking her, he was shot through the head by her husband. He was buried at Banalya on the same day.

When he finally returned from locating Emin, Stanley found the rear column in disarray. Subsequently, Stanley rejoined Emin and marched to the east coast, making various discoveries en route. All was overshadowed, however, by the controversy over the rear column ignited by Stanley's account, which blamed Barttelot" (Oxford DNB); Hess & Coger 4480.

$1250USD

---

---