ACROSS AFRICA

London: George Philip & Son, 1885. The first one volume edition with the “new and original matter and corrected map”. This printing includes three additional chapters not in the first printing. This copy with INSCRIBE PRESENTATION from a Lovett Cameron family member. Illustrated with 32 plates and illustrations, some folding, 120 woodcuts in the text and a large folding coloured map. Thick 8vo, in a handsome Relfe Brothers prize binding of full polished chocolate calf ruled on both covers in gilt with gilt corner pieces, the spine very handsomely gilt decorated in elaborate motif with large center tools in compartments between gilt stippled raised bands, one compartment with black morocco label gilt lettered, gilt hashed board edges and gilt tooled turn-ins, fine marbled endpapers, page edges marbled. xxviii, 569, including index. A handsome and well preserved copy, binding with expert rebacking preserving the original spine panel and all done very discreetly, the text block quite clean and sound with only a bit of minor uniform mellowing, the plates all fresh and fine, the folding map clean and complete but detached and split at a few folds. VERY SCARCE FIRST ONE VOLUME EDITION IN COLLECTOR’S CONDITION. THE FIRST EDITION WITH ADDITIONS AND THE CORRECTED MAP. THIS COPY ALSO WITH FAMILY PRESENTATION. Inscribed on the fly-leaf is "Henry Baker Cresswell From C. Lovett Cameron/ First Classical Prize. / Mortimer Dec. 18th 1889. This is possibly Caroline, the author's sister-in-law, who had encouraged his literary career.
After a naval career that took him to Ethiopia and the slaving areas of East Africa, Cameron was selected by the Royal Geographical Society in 1873 to go in search of Livingstone, and instructed also to make independent explorations with Livingstone’s guidance. Upon learning of Livingstone's death, Cameron’s European companions turned back but Cameron dedicated his expedition to geographical exploration of the African continent and forged ahead alone, arriving in Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika in 1874, where he found some of Livingstone’s papers and sent them back to England. Here he began his quest of exploration with his attempts to discover the “true form” of the south part of the lake, which ended up feeding into the Lukuga river. He went west from there to a town previously visited by Livingstone on the Lualaba river, which he suspected (rightly) was the main source for the River Congo but was unsuccessful in his attempts to prove it. His journeys took him further to the southwest until he reached the coast on November 28, 1875, becoming the first European to cross Equatorial Africa “from sea to sea.”
ACROSS AFRICA is the work for which he is best known, containing the exciting detailed account of this cross-continental journey as well as the author’s suggestions for the opening of the African continent such as utilizing the great lakes in a “Cape to Cairo” connection. Cameron spent the remainder of his life working on commercial development projects in places such as Turkey and the Persian Gulf and writing tales for the young. He also accompanied Sir Richard Burton in his West African journey of 1882 and was joint author of Burton’s TO THE GOLD COAST FOR GOLD. Cameron was killed by a fall from horseback as he returned from a hunting expedition in 1894. This is an important work.