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a book with a picture of a man and a map on itan old book with a drawing of a man on a bench
Ader

414 - AFRICA. Autograph manuscript signed by Pierre AYROL, 22 July…
See original version (French)

Estimate €400 - €500
Sale commission
Description
AFRICA. Autograph manuscript signed by Pierre AYROL, 22 July–12 September 1935; in-12 notebook (17 x 10.5 cm) comprising 34 printed pages and 145 handwritten pages, with attached documents attached, publisher’s black leather binding with gilt title ‘A Record of my tour abroad’. An account of a journey through colonial West Africa. A cruise aboard the SS Touareg. The ports of call, amidst the heat and fatigue, were: Philippeville, Algiers, Oran, Casablanca, the Canary Islands and Las Palmas, Dakar, Conakry, Tabou, Port-Bouët, Accra, Lomé, Cotonou, Lagos; the journey ended in Douala. At the start of the journal, Pierre Ayrol has pasted his photograph and signed it. Stamps have been pasted at the top of many pages (Senegal, Nigeria, Togo, Guinea, etc.). Various documents have been inserted: a hand-drawn itinerary showing some fifteen stopovers from Philippeville to Douala, a few photographs, nine drawings (Conakry, Lagos, Port-Bouët…), a business card and an invitation card from the Governor of Conakry, a newspaper clipping (19 August), a river crossing ticket, a Chamber of Commerce bulletin (22 August), and a menu. The traveller recounts daily life on board the ship, including its mishaps; meals with the Captain; visits to ports of call and the excursions; life around the ports, fishing, markets and bustling streets; the diverse populations: Europeans, Arabs and Jews; the festivals, African women in colourful dress, the houses, the colours, the African atmosphere, the landscapes with their vegetation, the beauty of the sunsets, the changeable weather, the cost of living, the contrasts between wealth and poverty, the brutality of the colonists and the blatant injustice, ceremonies or festivals followed by singing, local customs, rail and sea links, airlines, the postal service, etc. ; as well as economic or logistical observations relating to agricultural crops (bananas, wine, coconut palms) or industrial sectors (gold mines, timber), precarious conditions, modest wages, speculation, impassable roads, communications, unfinished projects and poorly maintained construction sites, etc.
See original version (French)
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About the sale Letters and Autograph Manuscripts – Part II
Auction location
Auction time 10/14/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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