ALLAN QUATERMAIN. Being An Account of His Further Adventures and Discoveries in Company with Sir Henry Curtis, Bart., Commander John Good, R.N., and One Umslopogaas

London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1887. First edition, first issue. With portrait frontispiece and 19 wood engravings. 8vo, elegantly hand-bound in half burgundy oasis morocco with raised bands to the spine, titled in gilt, cloth sides, black endpapers, with publisher's cloth covers bound in at the rear. A fine copy, both binding and text-block in excellent condition. FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE. Allan Quatermain was Haggard’s most popular hero, best known as the protagonist in KING SOLOMON’S MINES. Many believe Quatermain to be the inspiration for Indiana Jones.
The character Quatermain is an English-born professional big game hunter and occasional trader living in South Africa. An outdoorsman who finds English cities and climate unbearable, he prefers to spend most of his life in Africa, where he grew up under the care of his widower father, a Christian missionary.
In the earliest-written novels, native Africans refer to Quatermain as Macumazahn, meaning "Watcher-by-Night," a reference to his nocturnal habits and keen instincts. In later-written novels, Macumazahn is said to be a short form of Macumazana, meaning "One who stands out." Quatermain is frequently accompanied by his native servant, the Hottentot Hans, a wise and caring family retainer from his youth. His sarcastic comments offer a sharp critique of European conventions. In his final adventures, Quatermain is joined by two British companions, Sir Henry Curtis and Captain John Good of the Royal Navy, and by his African friend Umslopogaas