Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries, and of the Discovery of the Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa, 1858-1864

"Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries, and of the Discovery of the Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa, 1858-1864" by David and Charles Livingstone. 1866 1st American edition; Harper & Brothers; New York. The book features 36 in-text illustrations and full-page engravings (including a two-page frontispiece engraving of a "Bird's-Eye View of the Great Cataracts of the Zambesi, and of the Zigzag Chasm below the Falls through Which the River Escapes"), as well as a large fold-out map of Dr. Livingstone's travels at the back.

From the Preface: "It has been my object in this work to give as clear an account as I was able of tracts of country previously unexplored, with their river systems, natural productions, and capabilities; and to bring before my countrymen, and all others interested in the cause of humanity, the misery entailed by the slave-trade in its inland phases - a subject on which I and my companions are the first who have had any opportunities of forming a judgment. The eight years spent in Africa since my last work was published have not, I fear, improved my power of writing English; but I hope that whatever my descriptions want in clearness or literary skill may in measure be compensated by the novelty of the scenes describe, and the additional information afforded on that curse of Africa, and that shame, even now, in the nineteenth century, of a European nation - the slave-trade."

Here are a few examples of the contents: Second Portuguese Expedition after Gold Mines; Repulsed by Large Bodies of Natives; The Fatality of the Murderer Attends the Slave-Trade; Mouths of the Zambesi; Concealed to Deceive English Cruisers; Scenery of the River; Country in a State of War; Atrocities of Mariano; Birds and Beasts met with on the River; Peculiarity of Baobab Trees; Ravages of Smallpox; Superstitions about Mangoes, Coffee, and Rain-Making; Case of Voluntary Slavery; Elephant and Crocodile Schools of Medicine; Dice Doctors and their use as Detective Police; Coal, Gold and Iron; Hippopotamus Flesh; Sunstroke; Morumbwa Cataract; Native Musicians and their Instruments; Christmas in Tropical Dress; African Fever; First Intercourse with Unknown People; Beer Drinkers; Moon Blindness; Evil Effects of Contact with Slaves; Cockroaches as Aids to Banting; Palm Wine; Musquitoes; Confessions of an Old Slave Dealer; Native Travelers' Mode of Making Fire; Language of Ants; Rogue Monkey Respected; The Women, their Appearance and Ornaments; Gipsy Bellows in Africa; Victoria Falls; Albinos - Human and Hippopotamic; Skeletons; Young Women up for Sale; Native Language; Witchcraft, or Influence of Plants; Filing the Teeth and Tattooing; Slave-Hunters' Mode of Attack; Polygamy; Employments of Women; Cause of the War in America...and much more.

Condition:
There is a thin, 2" stain line below the title on the spine; small cloth tears at the cover corners; the top and bottom edges of the spine are worn. Tight binding with no cracks. The fold-out map at the back is present, but has torn away at the inner edge and is detached. The text pages are in nice condition - mostly clean with only some mild foxing here and there (though there is heavier foxing to the front and rear end papers). The blank page facing the 1st Preface page has 9 lines written in old handwriting in pencil about "Dr. Kirk" (Sir John Kirk, who was an English naturalist and companion to David Livingstone). There is an old bookplate affixed to the front pastedown. Overall the book is in Good- condition due to the detached map.