MISSIONARY TRAVELS AND RESEARCHES IN SOUTH AFRICA

New York: Harper and Brothers, 1858. First American edition, large paper 8vo edition. Engraved portrait and double-page frontispiece, 1 folding map, folding diagram and 42 black and white illustrations, many full page. Large 8vo, the largest of the publisher's printings of the book, publisher's original dark-brown cloth lettered in gilt on spine. xxiv, 732, 4 ads pp. A good honest copy of this classic, the American issue is far more elusive than the English first and is rarely in collectible condition. This copy with the textblock firm and solid and very clean, one folding map in facsimile, the other with a tear along the fold line but complete and attached, the cloth with some light typical wear and some age mellowing. RARE FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, of the account of Livingstone’s first great expedition (1853-56), during which he explored the Zambesi and its Victoria Falls. One of the most important of all 19th century books on African exploration.
"...David Livingstone, the Scottish medical missionary, is known to history as the greatest explorer of his age and a dedicated humanitarian who devoted his life to the eradication of the African slave trade. He was a national hero to his contemporaries and time has confirmed his reputation as one of the greatest, if not the greatest, of the eminent Victorians, both in his achievement and in his influence." - George Martelli
This first American edition is a bit taller then its English counterpart. It retains all of the illustrations, though arranged a bit differently.