Buddenbrooks, Inc.

Baker, Sir Samuel W ALBERT N'YANZA, GREAT BASIN OF THE NILE, AND EXPLORATIONS OF THE NILE SOURCES London Macmillan 1866

2 volumes. First edition. Illustrated with 2 maps, one of which is a large fold-out, portrait frontispiece, 14 fine plates, and 23 illustrations within the text. 8vo, bound in later three-quarter calf over marbled boards, raised bands, green morocco lettering labels gilt. xxx, 395; xi, 384 pp. A well preserved set, the bindings are bright and clean and in fine condition and the pages quite fresh, plates and illustrations in good order but for the folding map which has a large section in facsimile.

VERY SCARCE FIRST EDITION. Baker's account of his discovery of the last great source of the Nile, Speke and Grant having established Lake Victoria Nyanza as the source of the White Nile and Bruce discovering the source of the Blue. The waters of Victoria Nyanza flow into the basin of Albert Nyanza, which Speke and Grant were not permitted to visit, and the latter adds the accumulation of its watershed to the former to create the great White Nile, flowing massively from Albert Nyanza.
The first editions are becoming hard to find but the importance of the debate over the source of the Nile, combined with Baker's very readable writing style, made his books enormously popular, with the result that they were reprinted a great many times over the following years.

$US650

This item is listed on Bibliopoly by Buddenbrooks, Inc.; click here for further details.