THE STORY OF THE CAPE TO CAIRO RAILWAY AND RIVER ROUTE, FROM 1887 TO 1922

5 Volumes: I. The Record and Romance of an Imperial Project; How it Materialised to Date and the Story of its Creators; II. The Main Line as it Exists To-day from the Cape to the Nile Delta; III Variations of the Main Trunk Route and its feeder lines in existence or projected; IV The finance, commerce and industry of the countries served by the route; V Maps and Inde.,

 First edition: 5 volumes, 727 + 510 + 454 + 456 + (12 folding maps in a pocket and 49 page index), profusely illustrated throughout with portraits, plates and text illustrations (some coloured and folding), numerous colour folding maps, half dark green morocco titled gilt on the spines, top edges gilt, minor flaw on the spine of volume I, an unusually good copy.

In his foreword to this publication on page xxvii Smuts describes this work as a "Monumental Record of African Pioneering" Weinthal produced this work as a belated but substantial tribute to Rhodes's idea of a railway line from the Cape to Cairo.

The Story of the Cape to Cairo Railway And River Route, From 1887 To 1922 by Leo Weinthal (1923) is a lavish 5 volume tribute to one of the most glorious failures of the empire, the project conceived by Cecil Rhodes as 'The Iron Spine and Ribs of Africa'. Weinthal recruited every possible person with a connection to Rhodes and to colonial Africa, every likely expert on the continent, and every amenable viceroy, sirdar and colonial governor. Prominent contributors were Sir Percy Fitzpatrick on Cecil Rhodes and Dr Jameson, Sir Harry Johnston on the native languages along the route, Captain Selous on big game and Flinders Petrie on "The Trail of the Ancients on the Route". There is also an extract from Churchill's 'My African Journey', accompanied by a portrait. (Peter Merrington: https://read.dukeupress.edu/poetics-today/article-abstract/22/2/323/20687/A-Staggered-Orientalism-The-Cape-to-Cairo?)