IN DARKEST AFRICA Or, the Quest, Rescue and Retreat of Emin, Governor of Equatoria.

London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low and Searle. 1890. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Two volumes. Publisher's original reddish brown cloth with gilt titles and pictorial decoration to the upper boards and spines. Complete in every respect with portrait frontispiece to each volume, 4 maps (3 of which are folding) and 150 woodcut illustrations. A very good copy, the bindings firm and bright with bumped corners and a slight lean, a little cracking to the inner hinges in places. The contents, with a previous owner's ink stamp to the blank reverse of the frontispiece in volume II, are otherwise clean throughout. Other than a 5cm tear without loss to the folding map in volume one (where it joins the book) and a 4cm tear to the first folding map in volume two (in the same place), the contents are in very good order. An attractive example. Stanley's famous account of his expedition to relieve Emin Pasha, the beleaguered governor of equatorial Sudan; a mission plagued by violence, disease, high casualties and scandals involving European members of the expedition, and Stanley's last to the continent. Containing some of his most celebrated writing, particularly his account of the tortuous 450-mile passage through the dense Ituri rain forest, it documents his discovery of the great snow-capped range of Ruwenzori, the Mountains of the Moon, a new lake which he named the Albert Edward Nyanza, and a large south-western extension of Lake Victoria. A classic of African exploration. Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.