4to. xcii, 543 pp., [2 advertisements], engraved portrait frontispiece, 3 maps (2 folding), errata, appendix, contemporary full calf, spine gilt, upper joint split, Northern Light Board gilt stamp at head of spine, occasional light spotting, otherwise copy clean and in very good condition, Bookplate of David Scott Esq , published by The Association For Promoting The Discovery of The Interior Parts of Africa, John Murray, London, first edition, 1819.

Synopsis

Rare first edition. The travels described here took place in 1813 and 1814, to which are prefixed a Life and Memoir of the Author. Burckhardt (1784-1817), a Swiss traveller and adventurer who adopted native dress and went by the name of “Sheikh Ibrahim,” left Aleppo in 1812 and made his way to Cairo from where he undertook two journeys: one along the Upper Nile and the other through the Nubian desert. Leake edited these travels from Burckhardt’s journals; he also wrote the biographical memoir which is a preface to the travels. This was the first of Burckhardt’s works to be published and was followed by Travels In Syria, 1822. All of these journeys were made on behalf of the Africa Association whose president, Sir
Joseph Banks, had recruited Burckhardt for the long and difficult project of exploring Africa. The journeys described in these works were preparatory to the major effort of exploring the interior of Africa. In 1817 Burckhardt began the exploration of the countries of the Niger, but he had an attack of dysentery and died in October of the same year.
Bibliographic references: Weber, 106; Blackmer 238 (both refer to second edition), Hilmy I, 105, for the second edition of 1822.