Explorations from Quercus Rare Books

London & New York: J.M. Dent & Co. & E.P. Dutton & Co., 1910. This is a Later Printing from "The Everyman's Library Edited by Ernest Rhys" in Very Good condition. Green ribbed cloth binding with the Dent logo stamped on the front cover; Decorative titling in gilt on the spines. Clean text; xx, 363 pages; decorative endpapers. This printing… Read more about this item

San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1989. This is a Fine copy of the First (Trade) Edition, reproducing the limited edition issued by Yolla Bolly Press in 1988. A stunningly attractive book., with twelve wood engravings by Michael McCurdy. Light gray paper-covered boards with a gray linen spine titled in black. Clean text; xii, 162 poages; with a Foreward and Note… Read more about this item

London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1876. This is a Very Good copy of the First Edition [Penzer, pp. 92-93] in a contemporary rebind. One of the scarcer Burton titles. Red cloth boards with tips and spine in red leather. Clean text; xii, 275 pages; marbled endpapers; top-edge is gilt. Indexed. With a tipped-in errata slip. Before the Title Page is… Read more about this item

Garden City/New York: Doubleday Doran & Company, Inc., 1935. This is a Very Good copy of the First Edition. A scarce title. Bright orange cloth binding, blindstamped on the front cover with a floral design and a sailing ship. Titling on the spine in black and gilt. Clean text; 274 pages. Frontis illustration and twenty others within by the author.… Read more about this item

New York: Horizon Press, 1961. First published in 1860, this is Burton's classic account of one of the greatest feats of 19th Century African exploration by the fascinating/adventuring polymath. Burton is always an engrossing read;, and this is considered by Alan Moorhead (who writes the Introduction here) to be his best-written book. These are Fine copies of a well-produced set… Read more about this item

Stanford: Stanford General Books, 2006. An interesting take on the rivalry between Burton and Speke regarding the Source of the Nile; both are interesting (and difficult) historical characters. Speke won the race but not the Reputation Wars. This is a Fine copy of the First Edition [stated "Original Printing 2006"]; oddly, a scarce title. Black cloth binding with titling ingilt… Read more about this item

London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1880. Cornhill Magazine was one of the premier literary venues of the Victorian era; although its influence declined over the decades, it continued publication until 1975. This is a Very Good (Plus) copy of Volume XLII from July to December, 1880. This issue is distinguished by Richard Burton's essay on the African explorer Giovanni Battista… Read more about this item

London/New York: J.M. Dent & Sons Ltd. & E.P. Dutton & Co. Inc., 1924. Published initially in 1856. This is a Fine copy of Dent's "Everyman's Library" edition [#500], which was "First Published in this Edition 1910" with this being the Second Printing, from 1924. Not common. Gray/green ribbed cloth binding with titling in gilt on the spine; blindstamped ornamental… Read more about this item

London, Toronto, Melbourne and Sydney: Cassell and Company Limited, 1932. The German-Jewish writer Jacob (Jakob) Wasserman (1873-1934) was friend to Rilke and Mann; his works were banned by the Nazis in 1933. He admitted to a long fascination with the famed African explorer/missionary. The Victorians are currently not perhaps as appreciated as they once were, but Stanley's reputation has not… Read more about this item

Hartford/Newark/Toledo/Chicago/San Francisco: R.W. Bliss & Company [& Others], 1875. This is a Very Good copy of the First American Edition, "Published by Subscription Only" and "Abridged from the Original London Edition. With a Narrative of His Last Moments and Sufferings, Obtained from His Faithful Servants Chumash and Susi by Horace Waller, F.R.G.S." Brick red cloth binding, decoratively stamped and filled… Read more about this item

New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1866. The Scottish missionary David Livinstone (1813-1873) was one of several famous explorers, including Burton, Speke, and Baker, who shared the Victorian obsession with discovering the sources of the Nile. His brother Charles (1821-1873) likewise had his health broken by Africa. This is a Very Good copy of the First American Edition. Red cloth… Read more about this item

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1839. John Lander (1806-1839) and his brother Richard (1804-1834) were the first Europeans to follow the course of the Niger to its terminus in the Atlantic. First published in 1832; this is a Very Good (Minus) set of an early printing from seven years later. Historical significance and not common. Two small volumes of Harper's… Read more about this item

London: Royal Geographic Society/John Murray, 1873. The Brazilian/Portuguese explorer Francisco Jose de Lacerda e Almeida led an expedition to what is now part of Zambia; Burton's translation was a significant boon to African exploration; this title is one of the more desirable in his canon. Burton's portion ends at page 164; the book also includes "Journey of the Pombetros" translated… Read more about this item

London: Tinsley Brothers, 1864. Captain Burton's expedition had the goal of curtailing the slave trade; say what one needs to regarding colonialism, Britain made true efforts during the mid-19th Century to stop the slavers. These are Very Good copies of the Second Edition (stated), which corrects the misnumbered page 181 in the foirst issue. Marbled paper-covered boards with leather tips… Read more about this item

London/Edinburgh: William P. Nimmo, 1875. Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821-1890) is most-famed for eitherr his African explorations or his erotica. But he also spent the summer of 1872 in Iceland, where he made his typical keen observations. Penzer notes that he wrote a sequel, but it was never published. These are Near Fine copies of the First Edition, a… Read more about this item

New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1858. John Lander (1806-1839) and his brother Richard (1804-1834) were the first Europeans to follow the course of the Niger to its terminus in the Atlantic. First published in 1832; this is a Good copy of a Later Printing. Quercus speculates that this is part of Harper's "Famil;y Library" series, as it matches seen… Read more about this item

Boston: Atlantic Monthly Press Book/Little Brown and Company, 1952. This is a Near Fine copy of the author's first book, the First American Edition. Controversial when first published, due to its positive stance toward the Eskimo First Nation people. Thankfully, the dialogue has shifted, and Mowat's contribution toward justice is now recognized. Green cloth binding with gilt titling on the… Read more about this item

London: Blackwood's Magazine, 1864. Famed African explorer John Hanning Speke returned from his second expedition, claiming to have discovered the source of the Nile. He was wrong, but it was a noble effort. One year after giving his report to the Royal Geographical Society, he died in a hunting accident. Here is the announcement of his death, from Blackwood's Magazine… Read more about this item

London: Blackwood's Magazine, 1863. Ephemera. An exerpt (pages 264-266 only) from Blackwood's Magazine, October of 1863, anouncing John Hanning Speke's return from his second attempt to discover the source of the Nile River. A rather scarce bit of ephemera. Tiny bit of tan at edges, faint wrinkle; else Fine. In modern stiff paper binding; blue, with a paper label on… Read more about this item

London: Blackwood's Magazine, 1866. Ephemera. An exerpt (pages 205-224 only) from Blackwood's Magazine, August of 1866, with a summary of the expeditions to the source of the Nile by Speke, Grant, and Baker. A rather nice bit of historical ephemera, in modern stiff paper binding; blue, with a paper label on the front cover. Text is Fine; binding nearly so,… Read more about this item