Antiquarian Auctions

Auction #114 begins on 11 Apr 2024

Delegorgue (Adulphe)

TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA

translated by Fleur Webb, introduced and indexed by Stephanie J. Alexander and Colin De B Webb

Published: Killie Campbell Africana Library, Pietermaritzburg, 1990 and 1997

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First translation into English: 2 volumes. 359 + 401 pages, maps, illustrations (reproduced from the French Edition of 1847), portrait, finely bound in half brown morocco with marbled paper sides, original paperback front covers bound in at the back of each volume

From Wikipedia: Louis Adulphe Delegorgue, born in 1814, embarked on lifelong travels at the young age of 16. His greatest passion was for Africa, which supplied him with endless naturalist interests and satiated his tremendous appetite for big game hunting. Delegorgue’s travels in Southern Africa began with his arrival in Cape Town in 1838, and lead to an extensive exploration of the inland territories of Natal and Zululand, where he collected specimens and hunted and killed a large number of animals for sport. He returned to France publishing an account of his travels in South Africa. Untrained and without any fromal scientific education, He took the time to compile an extensive dictionary of Zulu vocabulary, the earliest known to be collected and published, even still considered a valuable linguistic resource today. On a later expedition, he died of fever during a trek across the African continent at the young age of 35. These two volumes are a translation of the original Voyage dans l’Afrique australe : notamment dans le territoire de Natal dans celui des Cafres Amazoulous et Makatisses et jusqu’au tropique du Capricorne, durant les années 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, 1842, 1843 & 1844. Paris : Au Dépot de Librairie, [1847]. The first volume of his famous Travels describes his brief jouneyings in the Cape Colony and the early part of his several years of hunting and specimen-collecting in Natal and Zululand. The second volume relates the latter part of his adventures in Natal and Zululand, and the extension of his odyssey of observations and despoliation beyond the Drakensberg into the 'land of Massilicatsi' From the publisher's note: Fleur Webb's lively translation allows English readers, for the first time, to enjoy Delegorgue’s' ebullience, and to see through his eyes the Port Natal settlement, Trekker life, and the pomp and pageantry of Mpande's court. An especial pleasure is his account of the plants and animals of Natal and Zululand, still fresh and unspoiled by pollution and destructive exploitation. Historian Colin Webb has provided an annotated general index and a preface assessing Delegorgue’s importance as an observer of events at a moment of critical transition in south African history. An encyclopaedic natural history index has been compiled by zoologist Stephanie Alexander, who has also contributed a perceptive portrait of Delegorgue as a scientist. No other tale of hunting and adventure, no other account of Boers and Zulus, no other chronicle of travels in nineteenth century southern African offers the reader such a rich blend of history, biology, Gallic charm and vigorous entertainment.

  • Size: 8vo (240x 160 mm)
  • Sold By: Clarke's Africana & Rare Books
  • Contact Person: Paul Mills
  • Country: South Africa
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Telephone: 021 794 0600
  • Preferred Payment Methods: Visa & Mastercard via PayGate secure links and Bank transfers.
  • Trade Associations: ABA - ILAB, SABDA


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