Kingston & Low - Great African Travellers - 1890

Great African Travellers From Bruce and Mungo Park to Livingstone and Stanley

By William H. G. Kingston and Charles Rathbone Low

London, 1890 (A Rare first edition)

The coat of arms of the Owen's Grammer School founded in 1613 with the title: Cambridge Local Examination, Honours, First Class is imprinted in gilt on the front cover. On the inside front cover is a bookplate pastedown with a prize inscription of the Owen's Grammer School: A. E. Homewood, Cambridge Local Examination, Junior Honours Class 1, Christmas 1893.

The book chronicles the journeys and explorations of notable African explorers as Livingstone, Stanley, Bruce, Mungo Park, Burton, Speke and Grant, Dr. Barth and many others who ventured into the continent's interior, most significantly highlighting the quests to uncover the sources of major rivers such as the Nile and the Niger. The narrative draws on the lives of various explorers, discussing both their triumphant and tragic encounters with African tribes and the treacherous conditions they faced. The beginning of the book provides an introductory perspective on the misconceptions and limited knowledge that Europeans held about Africa at the onset of the 19th century. Kingston outlines the initial ventures of explorers like Mungo Park, emphasizing their determination to chart the unknown, while illustrating the geographical and cultural challenges they confronted. He sets the stage for a deeper understanding of the interactions between European and African societies during these explorations, foreshadowing the stories of bravery, disaster, and discovery that follow as the narrative unfolds.

Illustrated with 100 black and white vignette and full page illustrations throughout, including a frontispiece portrait of Henry Stanley.

Condition: Very Good
Hard red leather-bound cover. Spine with five raised bands; six compartments with title and authors in gilt on spine. Gilt-ruled trim on inside boards and gilt decorations on top, side and bottom paper edges. External covers and spine are only very slightly worn thus in very good condition. Imprinted in gilt on the front cover is the coat of arms of the Owen's School founded in 1613. Bookplate pastedown with prize inscription on inside of the front cover. Both front and rear endpapers are marbled. Inner hinges are very good, not cracked, and pages are tightly held at gutters. No tears or holes on pages. No stains and only slight scattered foxing on the first few and last few pages. General browning of the pages. (Please see pictures). Overall in VERY GOOD CONDITION for its age.

Written by William Henry Giles Kingston, a prolific writer of adventure novels for boys. His works were often set at sea or in exciting foreign places. He also wrote accounts of real voyages and discoveries all over the world.