AN ACCOUNT OF TRAVELS INTO THE INTERIOR OF SOUTHERN AFRICA

In the years 1797 and 1798:

To which is annexed a description of the present state, populations, and produce of that extensive colony; with a map constructed entirely from actual observations made in the course of the travels.

First edition: 2 volumes, I. viii, 419. II. xi, (i errata), 452 pages, folding aquatint plate with sepia tint of 'Entrance to Cape Town from Green Point' as frontispiece to volume 2, large folding map in volume 1coloured in outline, 8 smaller maps - 2 partly hand coloured and folding - one the Military Plan of the Cape Peninsula, contemporary sprinkled calf neatly rebacked with red title labels, bookplates on both front endpapers in each volume, half title page in volume I, light foxing on the first two sections (16 pages) of volume I, overall a crisp set.

Mendelssohn (Sydney) South African Bibliography, volume 1, pages 87/88. Barrow was attached to the staff of the Earl of Macartney, one of the governors of the Cape Colony during the first occupation by the British. Barrow accompanied an expedition from Cape Town to Graaff-Reinet, and another to Namaqualand, and he gives an excellent description of the country traversed, particularly with regard to the botany and zoology of these regions. He provides significant evidence of the alleged brutality of the Boers to their slaves and Hottentot servants, and there is a description of the characteristics, habits, and customs of the various native races. The second volume deals with the importance of the country from a military and naval perspective.