Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa. From the Journal of an Expedition Undertaken Under the Auspices of H.B.M.'s Government, in the Years 1849-1855
London: Longman, Brown, Green, Longmans and Roberts, 1858.
First Edition. Hardcover. Good. Five volumes: second edition of volumes 1-3, first editions of volumes 4-5; 8vo, 15 folding maps with routes hand colored in outline (1 with a few short splits at the folds), 60 tinted lithographs, and numerous wood engravings in the text; original green cloth, gilt-stamped spines; front hinge of all vols. cracked, with first gatherings of two loosening; text block of vols. 1, 3, and 5 cracked longitudinally in two; short breaks in the cloth at the tops of all the spines and 2 long tears in the cloth of the spine of vol. 5. In all, a complete but compromised set with plates and maps in generally fine condition, but with obvious problems with the poorly constructed bindings. Barth, a German linguist and antiquarian, was attached to the British expedition to Central Africa led by James Richardson. After Richardson's death in 1851, Barth completed the expedition himself. In large part because of Barth's scientific thoroughness, the journey was a success. The explorer brought back a vast amount of information and was the first man to make reliable maps of large areas of Africa and to study the customs of the tribes he encountered. Abbey, Travel, 274.
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