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

London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle & Rivington, 1890. The New One Volume edition. Illustrated with 12 engraved full-page plates and with a profusion of woodblocks throughout as well as a folding map of equatorial Africa. Thick 8vo, in a very fine prize binding of full polished green calf, the covers gilt framed and the upper cover with a central gilt emblem, the spine with elaborate and handsome gilt-tooled panels within compartments between gilt stippled raised bands, additional gilt scallops at the tail, one compartment with a maroon morocco label gilt lettered, board edges and turn-ins nicely gilt decorated, endpapers and page edges marbled. xx, 658pp., map. A very handsome and well preserved copy in nicely executed full calf, the hinges tight and strong, the text-block clean with only a little spotting to the prelims and that quite light, the folding map in nice condition. A VERY HANDSOME PRIZE COPY OF STANLEY'S GREAT WORK. After the death of Livingstone, Stanley resolved to return to Africa and finish his work, and also to resolve some of the problems introduced by Burton and Speke.Livingstone considered it his mission to finish mapping and studying Central Africa, resolve some of the questions about the source of the Nile and to report on the doings of the slave traders, a practice that Livingstone spoke actively against. Criticized even a t the time for what many considered his harsh treatment of the natives, he did manage to finish what Livingstone had started and open up Central Africa to the west.