Voyage to Abyssinia, and Travels into the Interior of that Country, executed Under the Orders of the British Government, in the years 1809 and 1810; in which are included, An Account of the Portuguese Settlements on the East Coast of Africa, visited in the course of the voyage; A Concise Narrative of Late Events in Arabia Felix; and Some particulars respecting the Aboriginal African Tribes, extending from Mosambique to the borders of Egypt; together with Vocabularies of their respective languages -
Henry Salt
1814 - F. C. and J. Rivington, London - First Edition
First edition of this landmark work on the Ethiopian Empire, complete with all required maps and plates, in contemporary binding.
Henry Salt, who had been trained as a painter, first visited Egypt when he toured India and North Africa with Viscount Valentia ... He returned to Africa in 1809 on a government mission to establish contact with the King of Abyssinia which occupied him for two years. This work describes those travels and the appendix contains vocabularies of various African dialects.
Finely embellished with large folding engraved hand-coloured map of ‘Abyssinia’, six engraved charts (five of which are folding), 27 engraved plates by Charles Heath after Salt, engraved headpiece vignette and tailpiece vignette.
All of the folding maps and charts have been removed from the binding, backed onto linen, folded and then attached to tabs, making them more manageable. The list of plates calls for two separate charts of Howakil Bay and Annesley Bay, however there is just the one folding plate on which these two charts are engraved opposite p. 184. In the present copy, the chart of Zeyla which should be bound to face p. 475 has been misbound opposite p. 453. Russia leather was tanned by a special process, giving it a rich smooth effect; and impregnated with birch-bark oil, whence its characteristic scent. Russia leather was introduced from Muscovy before 1700 and applied to bookbinding soon after. It was particularly popular with English binders between 1780 and 1830 [Asprey].
References: Brunet V, 96. Howgego, Encyclopedia of Exploration 1800 to 1850, S6. Mendelssohn, South African Bibliography, II, 264.
Large quarto (binding size 31.6x25.5cm), pp. [2] xi [1] [3 (list of plates)] [1 (errata)] 506 lxxv [3]. Bound in contemporary Russian cowhide, spine lettered in gilt and intricately decorated in blind, tooled gilt edges and inner boarders, boards decorated in gilt, marbled endpapers and edges, re-backed retaining original spine. Condition: Near fine, generally clean throughout, in near fine rebacked contemporary binding. Ref: 111890 Price: HK$ 16,000
Henry Salt, who had been trained as a painter, first visited Egypt when he toured India and North Africa with Viscount Valentia ... He returned to Africa in 1809 on a government mission to establish contact with the King of Abyssinia which occupied him for two years. This work describes those travels and the appendix contains vocabularies of various African dialects.
Finely embellished with large folding engraved hand-coloured map of ‘Abyssinia’, six engraved charts (five of which are folding), 27 engraved plates by Charles Heath after Salt, engraved headpiece vignette and tailpiece vignette.
All of the folding maps and charts have been removed from the binding, backed onto linen, folded and then attached to tabs, making them more manageable. The list of plates calls for two separate charts of Howakil Bay and Annesley Bay, however there is just the one folding plate on which these two charts are engraved opposite p. 184. In the present copy, the chart of Zeyla which should be bound to face p. 475 has been misbound opposite p. 453. Russia leather was tanned by a special process, giving it a rich smooth effect; and impregnated with birch-bark oil, whence its characteristic scent. Russia leather was introduced from Muscovy before 1700 and applied to bookbinding soon after. It was particularly popular with English binders between 1780 and 1830 [Asprey].
References: Brunet V, 96. Howgego, Encyclopedia of Exploration 1800 to 1850, S6. Mendelssohn, South African Bibliography, II, 264.
Large quarto (binding size 31.6x25.5cm), pp. [2] xi [1] [3 (list of plates)] [1 (errata)] 506 lxxv [3]. Bound in contemporary Russian cowhide, spine lettered in gilt and intricately decorated in blind, tooled gilt edges and inner boarders, boards decorated in gilt, marbled endpapers and edges, re-backed retaining original spine. Condition: Near fine, generally clean throughout, in near fine rebacked contemporary binding. Ref: 111890 Price: HK$ 16,000