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two old books sitting on top of each other on a white surfacean old map of the british continent with a picture of a river
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16 - HORNEMANN (Friedrich Conrad).
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Estimate €300 - €400
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Description
HORNEMANN (Friedrich Conrad). A Journey… through North Africa, from Cairo to Murzuq, capital of the Kingdom of Fezzan; followed by Clarifications on the Geography of Africa by Mr Rennel… Paris: Dentu, Year XI (1803). — 2 volumes in-8, 199 x 123: xlviij, 236 pp., (1 f.), 1 map; (2 ff.), pp. (235)–476, 1 map. Light-coloured calfskin, double gilt fillet framing the covers, plain spine with decoration (contemporary binding). First edition of this French translation by Griffet de La Baume, considered superior to the 1802 version by François Soulès. The work recounts the expedition of the German explorer Friedrich Conrad Hornemann (1772–1800?), whose journal – addressed to the African Association in London – forms the basis of the narrative. Tasked with reaching the River Niger by travelling into Africa from the north, he was to set out from Egypt, make his way to Fezzan in Libya, then join a trade caravan to cross the Sahara and explore Bornu and the Sokoto Empire in Niger. Arriving in Cairo in 1798, shortly before Bonaparte’s landing, he began his journey under the guise of a Muslim merchant, Youssouf ben Abdallah, accompanied by a drogman, Joseph Frendenburgh. He joined a caravan heading for Marzuq, explored several oases, and then made his way to Tripoli, from where he sent his report to London. Having completed this first stage without incident, he ventured further south (Bornu, Katsina, Noupé), but died of dysentery before he could send any further news. The published account therefore covers only the first part of the journey, although it contains valuable information on the interior of Africa and the trade links between these regions and Fezzan. The edition has been expanded by the Orientalist Louis Langlès (1763–1824) with notes and a ‘Memoir on the Oases’, based chiefly on Arabic sources, containing ‘important and entirely new details on the Berber language ’ (vol. I, p. vij). The edition is illustrated with two large fold-out maps drawn by James Rennell (1742–1830): ‘Map of Mr Frédéric Hornemann’s route from Egypt to Fezzan, with neighbouring coasts and regions’, and ‘Map illustrating the progress of discoveries and the advancement of the geography of North Africa’. A fine copy in a contemporary binding, from the library of Bourlon de Rouvre. Provenance: Bourlon de Rouvre, with bookplate. – Pierre Guerquin, with bookplate.
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About the sale Claude Mozis Library – Black Africa and the African diaspora
Auction location
Auction time 10/21/2026 at 2:00 PM
Lot description modified on 10/02/2026 at 10:08 AM
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