NARRATIVE OF AN EXPEDITION INTO SOUTHERN AFRICA DURING THE YEARS 1836 & 1837.; from the Cape of Good Hope, through the Territories of the Chief Moselekatse, to the Tropic of Capricorn, with a sketch of the Recent Emigration of the Border Colonists and a Zoological Appendix.
John Murray. 1839 London, 2nd edn, xxvi + 387pp, illus, fold out map. Very good copy rebound in leather spine and marbled boards. Item #006909
William Harris was the first to hunt in South Africa and to write about it. This is a splendid book with beautiful plates. Not only an important work because of the ground breaking work that Harris did, but also because of the sheer beauty of the printing. This 5th edition is by far the best with the hand colored plates the first edition does not have. One of the greatest 19th century works on African game and the greatest title of its genre. Harris' study goes far beyond mere big game hunting, he gives us a description of what the Southern African continent was like some 150 years ago. The plates themselves are noteworthy, they are dynamic and capture the movements, the very nuances, of the subjects. Harris put Africa on the map as a place to hunt large game and the world has never looked back. It is only in the later editions that the publisher issued hand colored plates and thus they are the most desirable. This is a very early edition which is only one year off the first.
Price: $1,500.00