BURTON RICHARD F Sir 1856 First Footsteps in East Africa

Sale 2140 - Lot 20

Unsold

Estimate: $ 6,000 - $ 9,000

First Footsteps in East Africa. 4 hand-colored lithographed plates; 2 engraved maps. Half-title. 8vo, original blind- and gilt-blocked violet cloth, blistered and rubbed, covers slightly warped, rebacked with purple cloth retaining faded original backstrip, cover corners restored, endpapers renewed; contemporary owner's inscription on half-title. London, 1856

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Additional Details

first edition of an account of Burton's expedition to Somalia with his future rival John Hanning Speke. first issue, bound in violet cloth. With the first leaf (of 2) of the rarely seen Appendix IV, later suppressed (and here slit for cancellation). Titled "A Brief Description of Certain Peculiar Customs," the text itself is in Latin and concerns the prevalence of female genital mutilation in East Africa. The missing second leaf has the conclusion of the text on recto and blank verso. Casada 35; Penzer, pages 60-63 (describing the first issue as being in violet cloth, "exceedingly rare and practically unobtainable").