We guarantee the authenticity and completeness of all items (unless otherwise described), and are happy to provide a certificate to this effect. All items can be assumed to be in good condition, with any defects being described in our description.
We guarantee the authenticity and completeness of all items (unless otherwise described), and are happy to provide a certificate to this effect. All items can be assumed to be in good condition, with any defects being described in our description.
'His travels to Medina and Mecca make thrilling reading. Attacked by bandits in the Pilgrims Pass on the way to Medina, Burton then had a 36-hour non-stop rush to Medina, which he found to be "like a vision in the Arabian Nights"'.
Richard Burton’s best-known exploration is his 1853 pilgrimage to Mecca, which he formulated after his return from India in 1852. At the time he was still an employee of the East India Company but following some criticisms of Anglo-Idian misrule, the EIC were not interested in supporting this venture. He did however get the financial backing of the Royal Geographical Society, although it is not clear that they were aware of his intention to visit the Holy Cities as opposed to making a more general exploration Arabia.
His travels to Medina and Mecca make thrilling reading. Attacked by bandits in the Pilgrims Pass on the way to Medina, Burton then had a 36-hour non-stop rush to Medina, which he found to be ‘like a vision in the Arabian Nights’. Here Burton joined the 50,000 strong Damascus caravan to Mecca, which was also attacked before being saved by a troop of Wahabis. What an incredible sight the caravan must have made! In Mecca, Burton gained entrance to the Kaabah, and as a Hajji became entitled to wear the green turban. A little-known outcome of the pilgrimage was that Burton became the first person to introduce Turkish Delight to Europe after eating a local delicacy, Raha.
Burton’s account was published a couple of years later as Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El-Medinah and Meccah. Although a valuable book it is not especially rare, so I seek to find copies a bit special. The one we currently offer is in a superb Zaehnsdorf red morocco binding for a Scottish business. Beautifully preserved, it is most unusual to find the Pilgrimage in a fine early binding.
It was some 25 years later before Burton returned to Arabia, this time to Midian in the northwest of the peninsula. He was sorely in need of money and was convinced he would find gold there and make a fortune. Alas for Burton, no gold was ever found, nor was there any silver, a metal Burton believed had a strange influence on him, to the extent that he would put silver coins on his eyes if they were fatigued from reading, or on his gout pains.
He did, nevertheless, bring back 25 tons of samples, and surveyed 18 ancient settlements. In many ways this was his most important Arabian exploration, if lacking the romance and adventure of the Pilgrimage. Our copy of the Gold Fields of Midian and ruined Midianite Cities, 1878, is completely unrestored in the original red cloth.
The Land of Midian (Revisited) was published the following year. Again, completely unrestored in the original cloth, Both these Midian titles are from the York Minster library and have been together, shelf mates since publication. It would be wonderful if they were to go together to a new home.
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Wright's biography of Burton was very popular going through three printings in one year. It proved controversial for mentioning Burton's shortcomi...
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One of 50 copies. One of 50 edition de luxe sets finely bound in red morocco, housed in the original custom made cabinet, the glazed doors with pie...
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One of Burton's more sensational books. Dahomey had the reputation of being the most bloodthirsty land in Africa. Burton had wished to visit whils...
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'Newly married and needing employment, Burton approached the Foreign Office for a consular position, hoping for the post at Damascus. Instead, he ...
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The forbidden city of Harar. Burton's first expedition to Somalia, made in order to explore the forbidden city of Harar (which he was the first Eur...
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In anticipation of the approaching London Antiquarian book fairs, this May, we are spotlighting rare African exploration works. Featured, are four first editions, with inscriptions linking them to historical figures, enhancing their collectability.
Join us as we journey through time to discover some of the rarest books in the world. The following texts have shown an extraordinary ability to survive, with some books having survived the ravages of flood and fire, and others counting only a single surviving copy.
The public perception of the East India Company, an organisation which was to become one of Britain's most notorious colonial ventures, was mediated by a collective of artists. Diplomatic wrangling, imperial posturing, trade and warfare became the subjects of a significant artistic movement, aimed at depicting and dissecting the Company’s involvement in the political and social life of the period.
The woods and rivers, hills and hollows of fiction constitute some of our earliest and most beloved memories: from the Hundred Acre Wood to the home of Mr. McGregor. Join us this Easter as we travel through the imaginary places and winding roads of children’s literature.
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