Baker, Samuel

The Albert N'Yanza, Great Basin of the Nile, and Exploration of the Nile Sources (Two Volumes Complete)

Hardcover, London: MacMillan and Co., 1866. First Edition. Very Good+. Two Volumes. Octavo, pp xxx, 395; ix, 384. Volume 1: Frontispiece portrait of Baker and his wife Florence, 7 black and white plates, 15 illustrations in the text, 1 fold-out color map, 1 full page color map. Volume 2: Frontispiece of Lake Albert, 6 black and white plates, 5 illustrations in the text. Both volumes attractively bound in half morocco with marbled paper covered boards, marbled endpapers, and marbled page edges. Bindings have minor wear to corners. Some wear to leather along the edges of the spine in Vol 1. Some age spotting to white endpapers and title page (vol 1) , text and illustrations in both volumes clean and bright. Large fold-out map has a 3/4 inch tear in margin. Although both volumes call for the both maps in their List of Illustrations, the maps are only in Volume I as issued. Apparently some books were issued with the maps in vol I and some with maps in vol II. This set is complete. This set does have a plate in Volume I titled "Skirmishing With the Natives" opposite page 350 which is not mentioned (not called for) in either volume's List of Illustrations. Sir Samuel Baker (1821-1893) was one of the most famous of the Victorian African explorers, big game hunters, and abolitionists. This is his first and most important book about Africa. In this book Baker recounts his and his wife's exploration of Africa and their hunting adventures. Baker was wealthy and his expedition was well supplied. Baker and his wife Florence arrived in Cairo in April, 1861 and went to Khartoum, a journey that took more than a year. In Sudan, the Bakers learned that Speke and Grant (who were attempting to find the source of the Nile) had gone missing and that Petherick (who was supposed to meet them in Gondokoro with fresh supplies) had wandered off and was presumed dead. The Bakers took Petherick's place and when Grant and Speke finally arrived, the Bakers were able to richly re-supply them. Speke told Baker that his expedition had been forced off the Nile for a while and that the full route of the Nile remained unexplored including a possible lake to the west of Lake Victoria. Baker and Florence took up the challenge and became the first Europeans to see Lake Albert, the Victoria Nile, and the Murchison Falls. The Bakers would not return to Khartoum until May, 1865. Baker's wife, Florence, explored Africa with him. They famously met in Vidin, Bulgaria where she was a slave at auction. Baker was outbid when he tried to buy her freedom so he simply bribed the guards and stole her. They married twice, once in Bucharest and then later in England. Baker was a famous big game hunter and this book is filled with hunts after buffalo (one killed a member of his party) , elephant (one hunted him back) , antelope, crocodile, and hippo. Baker may have been very slightly crazy and enjoyed using a muzzle loading rifle that fired a half-pound exploding shell. He named the astounding rifle Jenna el Mootfah (child of the cannon). A major work in both African exploration and hunting with a lengthy entry in Howgego and Czech. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall. [Item #82549]

Price: $750.00