antiquarian bookseller - Peter Harrington

Peter Harrington Antiquarian Bookseller
90. STANLEY, Henry Morton.
In Darkest Africa. or, The Quest
Rescue and Retreat of Emin,
Governor of Equatoria.
London, Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, 1890 [17842]
£600
6 volumes, 8vo. Publisher’s pictorial red cloth. With 165
woodcut illustrations and maps. Some scattered foxing
throughout, some rubbing to extremities and a little staining,
otherwise a good copy.
FIRST EDITION, Subscriber’s Edition.
91. STANLEY, Henry Morton.
Through the Dark Continent.
Or The Sources of the Nile Around
the Great Lakes of Equatorial Africa
and Down the Livingstone River
to the Atlantic Ocean. With a New
Preface by the Author, written for
this Edition.
George Newnes, Limited, 1899 [36952] £475
2 volumes, 4to. Frontispieces, 32 other plates, 7 full-page
maps (one folding), numerous illustrations to the text.
Some scattered foxing, otherwise very good indeed in the
publisher’s black skiver-backed boards, just a little chafed at
the extremities, marbled edges.
“ … after an interval of twenty years … it has been
thought desirable by the publishers that I should employ
the opportunity of reviewing a few of the amazing
changes that have taken place in the regions described in
the book” (author’s new preface).
FIRST BOOK, BAGHDAD IMPRINT
92. STARK, Freya.
Baghdad Sketches.
Baghdad, The Times Press, 1932 [32074] £675
8vo. Original red cloth paper title labels to upper board and
spine. Illustrated by E.N. Prescott. Spine very lightly cocked,
labels minutely chipped but an exceptionally bright copy of
Stark’s scarce first book.
FIRST EDITION, First Impression. Published for the author
in Iraq where she was stationed. A marvellous first book
by one of the greatest women travellers of the century.
93. WALLACE, Edgar.
The Mission that failed. A Tale of the
Raid & other Poems reprinted from
the “Owl” etc.
Cape Town and Bulawayo, T. Maskew Miller, 1898 [39730]
£750
Small 8vo. Original printed wraps, rebacked with cloth, some
repairs, wraps brittle and paint-spattered on the upper panel.
Portrait frontispiece. Marginal browning, else very good.
FIRST EDITION. “A collection of poems on South African
topics; among the stanzas are some verses concerning the
Jameson Raid, and other matters concerned with Transvaal
politics” (Mendelssohn). In his autobiography published in
1926 Wallace remarks that he “ … had not got a copy, and
would gladly give a ‘tenner’ for one.” This copy inscribed by
Wallace in 1930 to the Africana collector and major donor
to the Library of the University of Witwatersand, John G.
Gubbins; “I inscribe this copy of my first ‘book’. I haven’t
tried to re-read it!”.
Lofts & Adley B108; Mendelssohn II, p. 579.
94. WILMOT, Alexander.
History of the Zulu War.
London & Cape of Good Hope, Richardson and Best, London and A. White
and Co., “South African Mail” Office, 1880 [39111]
£575
8vo. Original blue embossed cloth, title and portrait of
Cetewayo gilt to the spine. Mounted photographic portrait
frontispiece of the Prince Imperial, folding map. Slight foxing
and browning, externally a little rubbed, spine mottled and
with a small nick to the upper joint.
FIRST EDITION. Wilmot was born in Scotland and studied
law at Edinburgh and Glasgow. He emigrated to the Cape in
1853 at the age of seventeen and entered the Civil Service,
retiring in 1886 as Civil Commissioner. He did much work
for the Catholic church in South Africa for which he was
made a papal count. Wilmot “appears to have been fully
convinced that war in Zululand was inevitable, and he
asserts that ‘Cetywayo for two years had been arranging
for a great special blow on the white people. He was
crouching ready to spring and the High Commissioner
knew it was necessary to act at once’” (Mendelssohn).
Catalogue 57: Travel Section 2: Africa and the Middle East to Persia
2 3
Mendelssohn II, p.619.
95. WILSON, Robert
Thomas.
History of the British Expedition
to Egypt; To Which is Subjoined, a
Sketch of the Present State of that
Country and its Means of Defence.
London, printed by C. Roworth, 1803 [15175] £1200
Large 4to. Contemporary red morocco, gilt title and decoration
to spine, double gilt rule to boards, marbled endpapers, all
edges gilt. Engraved portrait of Sir Ralph Abercromby, four
partially hand-coloured maps, of which three are folding, and
two folding tables. Armorial bookplate of Baron Vivian to the
front pastedown (Richard Hussey Vivian served in the Low
Lands in the 1790s and commanded a cavalry brigade in the
Peninsula and at Waterloo). Slight marks and wear to binding,
offsetting of portrait onto title page, staining to a folding map,
otherwise a clean, sound copy. Very good.
Second Edition. Wilson was Lieutenant Colonel of Cavalry
in His Majesty’s Service, and Knight of the Imperial
Military Order of Maria Theresa. He took part in many of
the Napoleonic campaigns and later served as governor of
Gibraltar. This work is the basic contemporary source for
the British campaign against Napoleon in Egypt.