Michael Russell - The Barbary States - 1835

Extensive historical and cultural-historical portrayal of North Africa with a particular focus on the history, society, religion, and political conditions of the Barbary States in the early 19th century.
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First edition. Publisher: Edinburgh, Oliver & Boyd / London, Simpkin, Marshall & Co., 1835. 456 pages with a folded engraved map, a morocco binding of the period with rich gilding on the spine, boards and inner edges, gilt, 16 x 11 cm.
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The rare first edition of the portrayal of the North African Barbary States by the Scottish historian and clergyman Michael Russell, one of the more prominent British popular-science travel and cultural historians of the early 19th century. The work offers a broad overview of history, political constitution, religion, literature, trade, agriculture, and social conditions of the then North African empires and provinces, particularly Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, and Tripoli.

Particularly appealing is the illustrative apparatus with a large, repeatedly folded map of the Barbary States as well as eleven engraved views and plates, including city views, costume images, and topographic vedute, which make the work a vivid testimony to British Oriental and African reception in the 19th century.

A decorative and collectible work on the historical European perception of North Africa as well as on the early Orientalist travel- and regional studies of the 19th century.
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Binding worn, otherwise a beautiful, well-preserved copy in an appealing overall condition.