Explorations in South-West Africa (1864)

While this copy of the first edition of this important and rare book is internally very good, its value is reduced by extensive rubbing and sunning to the boards and spine; by contrast, we sold a finely rebound copy of the same edition for $1000 on Auction #78

While some collectors will be satisfied to have a copy in the condition of this lot, others might like to have it similarly rebound; to accommodate this last category of potential buyers, we have adjusted the reserve of this lot to only one-fifth of the Auction #78 copy

PAGINATION ANOMALY

As Thomas Baines's father, M A Baines, notes in his preface (reproduced in the images), Thomas and other members of his party became ill at the Victoria Falls, forcing him to abandon the planned attempt to descend the Zambesi; between then and Baines's return to Cape Town, his publishers (Longmans) and printers (Spottiswood) received the manuscript, not knowing that it was incomplete; however, another batch of manuscript was subsequently found and received; as it was too late to repaginate the whole book, this additional material was inserted in its correct chronological position as Chapter XV and paginated [390] to [457], thus increasing the total number of pages to 602; the index, however, was reprinted and dealt with the anomaly by giving Chapter XV page references inside square brackets ([]); all this is shown in the images

DESCRIPTION

The boards and spine are as already described; there are three letters in ink on the front free endpaper, which is otherwise clean, and an ownership signature on the half-title verso; the colour frontispiece, which still has its tissue protection, shows a chromolithographic reproduction of Baines's original painting of flamingoes; title-page and other prelims; 602 pp of text, index and publisher's announcement plus two folding maps (actually parts 1 and 2 of the single original map reading from west to east) and other inserted illustrations and illustrations in the text (see images)

The contents are complete and in very good condition - small reservations being a sunned back endpaper and occasional scattered and mainly early light foxing (see images)