Or The Quest Rescue And Retreat Of Emin Governor Of Equatoria.
HENRY STANLEY IN SUDAN
In Darkest Africa Or The Quest Rescue And Retreat Of Emin Governor Of Equatoria.
Sampson, Low & Co., 1890.
First edition. Two volumes. 8vo. Original brown pictorial cloth, decorated in gilt and printed in black and grey. Frontispiece and a colour folding map to each volume, with an additional folding map and coloured profile sketch to the second volume. Thirty-six black and white plates in total, with further illustrations in the text and map endpapers. A fine set, externally clean and very bright. Some spotting to the page edges, and internally. A couple of short closed tears to the maps, as often.
Stanley's famous account of the Emin Pasha relief expedition to equatorial Sudan, a classic of African exploration. The relief mission was costly and harrowing, as Stanley's account shows, with the arduous four month passage through the Ituri forest alone claiming the lives of 180 of Stanley's men and "stand[ing] as one of the most gruelling and difficult journeys on record" (Howgego).
Stanley compiled his account of the journey with the efficiency of a seasoned foreign correspondent, writing around twenty pages a day for fifty days at a hotel in Cairo.
The resultant work secured his fame as an explorer and writer:
"Stanley arrived [back] in England to a hero's welcome. His 'In Darkest Africa' was published in June that year, sold 150,000 copies and was immediately translated into six languages. Impresarios in countries as far afield as North America and Australia clamoured for Stanley's presence on the lecture circuits; he was given the freedom of five British cities and awarded honorary doctorates by Edinburgh, Oxford, Durham and Cambridge" (Howgego).
Due to the great weight of the text, block copies in the original cloth, in nice condition and with sound hinges, are uncommon.
Howgego IV S60
Stock ID: 43574
£1,250.00
