first edition
1863 · Edinburgh and London
by Speke, John Hanning
Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1863. First edition. Near Fine. Publisher's orange cloth with gilt figure. Octavo. xxxi, [1], 658, [34, ads] pp. Collating complete with twenty-seven plates (including frontisportrait of Speke) and the large fold-out map (445 x 570 mm) of Eastern Equatorial Africa tucked into the pocket beneath lower pastedown (as issued). Binding is clean and attractive despite some bumping to corners. Teal endpapers, somewhat rubbed, with some splitting to lower gutter. Occasional slight foxing to versos of plates. Fold-out map with some wear to creases. A bright, Near Fine copy.
After previous botched attempts by both John Hanning Speke (1827 – 1864) and Richard Francis Burton (1821 – 1890) to locate and thoroughly explore the source of the Nile, Speke embarked on a Royal Geographical Society expedition in 1860 to conclusively chart the river. Speke had, technically, already reached (and named) Lake Victoria in 1858, but Burton and other critics had cast doubt on his voyage, prompting Speke to return to the region to cement his claim (and his reputation). The expedition ultimately took over two years, during which Speke traversed the length of the Nile, frequently waylaid by injuries, supply issues, and the politics of the kingdoms through which he traveled. He spent significant portions of his voyage in the Bantu kingdom of Buganda, allying with local rulers and recording the cultures he observed. Speke reached Lake Victoria in July of 1862 – "the crowning moment of the expedition and of Speke's career" – and was met with acclaim on his return to London in the autumn of 1863 (ODNB). His documentation of both Lake Victoria as a Nile source and the cultures of eastern equatorial Africa were "landmark[s] in the systemization of knowledge about the world...Speke's accounts of his expeditions remain absolutely vital sources of evidence on the history of east Africa in the nineteenth century" (ODNB). Near Fine. (Inventory #: 6996)
After previous botched attempts by both John Hanning Speke (1827 – 1864) and Richard Francis Burton (1821 – 1890) to locate and thoroughly explore the source of the Nile, Speke embarked on a Royal Geographical Society expedition in 1860 to conclusively chart the river. Speke had, technically, already reached (and named) Lake Victoria in 1858, but Burton and other critics had cast doubt on his voyage, prompting Speke to return to the region to cement his claim (and his reputation). The expedition ultimately took over two years, during which Speke traversed the length of the Nile, frequently waylaid by injuries, supply issues, and the politics of the kingdoms through which he traveled. He spent significant portions of his voyage in the Bantu kingdom of Buganda, allying with local rulers and recording the cultures he observed. Speke reached Lake Victoria in July of 1862 – "the crowning moment of the expedition and of Speke's career" – and was met with acclaim on his return to London in the autumn of 1863 (ODNB). His documentation of both Lake Victoria as a Nile source and the cultures of eastern equatorial Africa were "landmark[s] in the systemization of knowledge about the world...Speke's accounts of his expeditions remain absolutely vital sources of evidence on the history of east Africa in the nineteenth century" (ODNB). Near Fine. (Inventory #: 6996)
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