BRUCE JAMES Voyage aux Sources du Nil en Nubie et en Abyssin

Sale 2165 - Lot 118

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Estimate: $ 2,000 - $ 3,000

BRUCE, JAMES. Voyage aux Sources du Nil, en Nubie et en Abyssinie [with William Paterson, Quatre Voyages dans le Pays des Hottentots et la Caffrerie]. Half-titles. 6 volumes in 5, including the atlas containing 58 engraved plates, 7 engraved leaves of texts in various Ethiopic languages, and 3 folding engraved maps to accompany the work by Bruce, and 19 plates and one folding engraved map to go with the text by Paterson. 4to, contemporary mottled calf, rebacked retaining original(?) morocco lettering pieces; contents generally clean, with only occasional toning and minor spotting, several plates cropped affecting plate number. handsome set. Paris, 1790-92

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first edition in french, translated by Jean-Henri Castéra. "Bruce arrived in Alexandria in 1768 having determined to discover the source of the Nile . . . He eventually reached Gondar in 1770 . . . He stayed there for two years before finally reaching the source of the Blue Nile, and in 1771 he also found its confluence with the White Nile having surmounted numerous difficulties. This work is particularly important for its portrayal of Abyssinia, little-known to his contemporaries, for its literary merits, and for the final volume on natural history" (Blackmer sale). This edition also contains Castéra''s translation of William Paterson''s work on his travels in southern Africa; for another French version see lot 204. Blackmer sale 434 (1790 original edition in English). Nissen ZBI 618 (this edition).