PATTERSON'S CAPE TRAVELS 1777-1779 (Brenthurst Series Limited De Luxe in Slipcase, 1980)

Publisher's limited de luxe edition limited to 125 copies of which this is #85.

This half-leather de luxe edition was bound in Russel Oasis Niger leather by Peter Carstens of Johannesburg. The boards are done in hand-marbled paper. Top edge gilt. Housed in a matching silk-lined, marbled paper covered slipcase.

Textured end papers. 203 pages, frontispiece + 62 plates and 8 maps.

This is the sixth title in the Brenthurst FIRST Series.

Minimal age-associated rubbing along the edges of the slipcase. Overall a very good to near fine copy.

This is the first printing of Patterson's original manuscript account which he reworked into the short but reliable A Narrative of Four Journeys into the Country of the Hottentots and Caffraria (published in London, 1779). The imperfections in his manuscript were due to his deficiencies in education but were nevertheless made up for by his thoroughness and sharp observations. The document came to light in the middle of the 20th century and was acquired by Mr. H. Oppenheimer for the Brenthurst Library. This edition is annotated by geographer Vernon S. Forbes and botanist John Rourke. The Brenthurst Library already owned Patterson's picture album of over 300 colour sketches before their acquisition of the manuscript, and his full colour illustrations of plants, people, animals and scenery were used for this publication to enhance the overall presentation.

William Patterson was twenty-one years old when he set out for the Cape in 1777. His four journeys of travel in the interior of southern Africa covered the area from the mouth of the Orange River in the west to the banks of the Keiskamma River in the east.