THE JOURNAL OF A MISSION TO THE INTERIOR OF AFRICA IN THE YEAR 1805. TOGETHER WITH OTHER DOCUMENTS, OFFICIAL AND PRIVATE, RELATING TO THE SAME MISSION. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF MR. PARK

Philadelphia: Edward Earle, 1815. Leather-bound. Fair Only. Old half leather with marbled paper sides (well worn). Hinges cracked. 8vo. 9 in. Considerable foxing throughout, but quite readable. Lacks Map. With Isaaco and Amadi Fatouma's journals as appendices. The journal of Park's second expedition during which his party was attacked and murdered, which may or may not have had something to do with Park's purported propensity to shoot first. NO map. Park was a Scottish explorer of West Africa, who made several important journeys of discovery, in fact was the European "UR" explorer for this region: "His dispassionate — if not scientific or objective — descriptions set a standard for future travel writers to follow and gave Europeans a glimpse of Africa's humanity and complexity. Park introduced them to a vast continent unexplored by Europeans. ...Mungo Park was its first successful explorer, he set a standard for all who followed. After his death, European public and political interest in Africa began to increase. Perhaps the most lasting effect of Park's travels, though, was the influence on European colonial ambitions during the 19th century." (Frank Kryza, "The Race for Timbuktu: In Search of Africa's City of Gold", 2006, Harper Collins).