Explorations in South-West Africa by Thomas Baines (1st Edition)

Author: Baines, Thomas 
Title: Explorations in South-West Africa, Being an Account of a Journey in the Years 1861 and 1862 from Walvisch Bay, on the Western Coast, to Lake Ngami and the Victoria Falls 
Publisher: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts & Green 
Date: 1864 
Place: London 
Dimensions: 23cm x 16cm 

xiv+pp1-457+[pp390-457]+pp458-353

1st Edition.

Recent half leather over green cloth, 4 raised bands to spine, titles in black compartment label, author’s name and publication date in gilt to bottom two compartments respectively, gilt rules to spine and corners.

Noted in the preface is the reason for the insertion of an additional chapter and the consequently unusual pagination - manuscripts for this chapter were discovered after the final chapter had already gone to print. This is correct for the first edition as noted by Mendelssohn.

Thomas Baines was an artist and early explorer. The present work is an account of his travels from Walvis Bay in Namibia to the Victoria Falls which he undertook with the explorer James Chapman. It is accompanied by 2 maps, numerous b/w illustrations, 7 plates and the iconic chromolithographic frontispiece “Regiment of Flamingoes”.

Rebound, collated and complete, a few spots of scattered foxing, a handful of leaves with minor corner losses not encroaching into the text, the first map with a few creases. Previous ownership inscription to pp100 with offsetting to the opposite page.

A very good copy, binding tight and firm.