Antiquarian Auctions

Auction #114 begins on 11 Apr 2024

Mungo Park

Travels in the Interior of Africa in the Years 1795, 1796, 1797. (1799)

Published: Crosby and Letterman, London, 1799

Edition: First Abridged Edition

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Published in 1799, this was the first abridged version of Mungo Park's famous book. 

Original binding. Three-quarter calf with marbled boards.

xvi + 218pp + two engraved plates ("Mr. Park's First View of the Niger" as frontispiece, and "Mumbo Jumbo" on page 37).

Collation complete lacking only the rear endpaper. The covers and binding remain in good condition with only a 3cm split in the leather at the top of the spinecrown along the front hinge. Some general age-associated edge rubbing. Slight loss of paper at the top margins of pages 82 & 83 not affecting text.

Mungo Park was an 18th-century Scottish explorer who was well-known for his voyages in West Africa and the Niger River Basin. The origin of this voyage came when Park sought to discover the source of the Niger River, a goal that Daniel Houghton had originally set out to find.

This book set the standard for future travel writers to follow and was important for providing Western Europeans with a view of life in Central Africa.

According to Printing and the Mind of Man:

"Until the publication of Park's [first] book in 1799 hardly anything was known of the interior of Africa, apart from the north-east region and the coastal areas. Park's Travels had an immediate success and was translated into most European languages. It has become a classic of travel literature, and its scientific observations on the botany and meteorology of the region, and on the social and domestic life of the [Natives], have remained of lasting value."

  • Binding Condition: Good
  • Overall Condition: Good
  • Size: 22 x 14cm
  • Sold By: Rare Paper
  • Contact Person: Armandt Marais
  • Country: South Africa
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Telephone: 0741235861
  • Preferred Payment Methods: EFT, Bank Deposit. For International Customers: Paypal with 6% surcharge, International Transfer
  • Trade Associations: A. A. Approved


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