Bentley, W. Holman

Pioneering on the Congo (2 Volumes Complete)

Hardcover, [London]: Religious Tract Society, 1900. First Edition. Very Good. Bound in pubisher's dark blue cloth with gold cover and spine decorations and titles. Top page edges gilded. Octavo. Volume I pp 478, frontispiece of a Ngombe Warrior, 110 additional illustrations, 1 full page map, 1 large fold-out map. Volume II pp 448, frontispiece of the Congo State Railway, 89 additional illustrations, 3 maps in the text, 1 full page map, index. Previous owner name on free endpaper in both volumes. Age spotting to pastedowns and endpapers and tissue guards of frontispieces. Text, illustrations, and maps clean. Spines on both volumes slightly slanted and bumped at both ends. Corners bumped and gently rubbed. Gold decorations on covers bright. Mild soiling to font cover of Vol I. Rev. William Holman Bentley (1855-1905) was an English missionary for the Baptist Missionary Society in the Congo. He was one of the most important missionaries in the region and helped George Grenfell explore the Congo river system and establish a string of missionary bases in the Congo. Because Grenfell did not write books himself, Bentley's books are some of our best sources for what the missionaries did and saw during this crucial time in Congo history. This work also includes 2 chapters on pre-missionary Congo history covering 1484-1877. Most missionaries to the Congo died deeply disillusioned, while they were working and risking their lives to "civilize" the Congolese, Leopold was working to ruthlessly exploit them and repeatedly lied to the missionaries about the true nature of his regime. Ships same or next business day well protected in a box. Two volume set - expedited/priority and international orders will require extra shipping charges in addition to the charges quoted by this website. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall. [Item #79324]

Price: $250.00