A Narrative of the Expedition Sent by Her Majesty's Government to the River Niger, in 1841. Under the Command of Captain H. D. Trotter
London: Richard Bentley, 1848.
First Edition. Hardcover. Good. 2 volumes, 8vo, pp. xviii, 509, [1]; viii, 511, [1]; engraved portrait frontispiece, 3 maps (2 folding, 1 hand-colored in outline), 16 engraved copperplates (1 folding), 2 wood-engraved plates, a hand-colored geological cross-section, and numerous wood engravings in the text. Old library stamps on both title pages, otherwise a very good copy in modern brown buckram. Allen commanded one of three ships on the largely unsuccessful Niger expedition of 1841, which was organized by missionary and anti-slavery groups with the backing of the British government and was intended to promote both commerce and Christianity. The expedition was quickly crippled by illness-with the first death occurring the day they entered the Niger-and had to turn back early. Nonetheless, the account provides valuable details on the Kingdoms of southern Nigeria and the tribes and natural history of the region. Howgego, II, p. 594-95.
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