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drawing of a map of the island of st chad, with a view of the island of st chad in the distancean old map of the british and british islandsthree books are stacked on top of each other on a white surfacean old book with a title in french on itan old book with a picture of a man in a military uniforman old book with a black and white title on itan old drawing of a man riding a horse with a sword in his hand
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256 - Africa – DENHAM (Dixon) & CLAPPERTON (Hugh) & OUDNEY (Walter…
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Estimate €800 - €1,000
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Description
Africa – DENHAM (Dixon) & CLAPPERTON (Hugh) & OUDNEY (Walter). Travels and Discoveries in the Northern and Central Parts of Africa, across the Great Desert, as far as the 10th degree of north latitude, and from Kouka in Bornu to Sackatou, capital of the Felatah Empire, undertaken during the years 1822, 1823 and 1824 by Major Denham, Captain Clapperton and the late Dr Oudney; followed by an appendix containing an Essay on the language of Bornou, and glossaries of the languages of Timbuktu, Mandara and Begharmi; translations of Arabic manuscripts on the geography of the interior of Africa; and numerous documents on mineralogy, botany and the various branches of natural history in that region. Paris, Arthus Bertrand, Mongie the Elder, 1826. 3 vols. in-8 and a large in-4 atlas, all in uniform midnight-blue half-shagreen binding, ribbed spine, title and volume numbers gilt (contemporary binding for the text and imitation binding for the atlas, with covers preserved). First edition of the French translation of this famous account by Messrs Eyries and de Larenaudière. The quarto atlas contains 18 plates and a large fold-out map. The plates depict indigenous people, views, weapons, utensils, etc. Having set out from Tripoli in 1821 for Timbuktu, Major Dixon Denham (1786–1828) reached Mourzouk (in present-day Libya) and crossed the Bilma Desert (following a trail of human and animal skeletons!) before reaching Bilma, the capital of Tibesti, and then Bornu. The expedition then skirted Lake Chad, crossed the Komadougou River and arrived at Kouka, where it was very warmly received and took part in several slave raids... After numerous explorations in the region, Denham returned to Tripoli in August 1824, becoming the first European to have circumnavigated Lake Chad. He had also observed that the lake had no visible outlet and that, contrary to popular belief, the Niger and the Nile formed two entirely distinct basins. On his return, Denham was appointed governor of the colony of free Negroes in Sierra Leone, a post he held until his death. Dr Oudney (1790–1824) was sent on a mission to Bornu to take up the post of consul there. He joined Denham’s expedition in 1822, along with his Scottish compatriot, Captain Clapperton (1788–1827). Whilst Denham was exploring the western bank of Lake Chad on his own, the two men decided to set out to explore the course of the Niger River through the Fellatah Empire and were the first to visit the city of Kano, from where they brought back numerous notes. Following Oudney’s death there, exhausted by the journey, Clapperton returned to England with Denham, only to set off almost immediately on a new expedition to the same regions. Included in the same binding is: CLAPPERTON (Hugh), Second Journey into the Interior of Africa, from the Gulf of Benin to Sackatou [...] during the years 1825, 1826 and 1827. Followed by the account of Richard LANDER’s [his servant] journey from Kano to the coast. Paris, Arthus Bertrand, Mongie the Elder, 1829. 2 volumes, in-8. Portrait of Clapperton on the frontispiece, one map in each volume (course of the Kouarra). An interesting and rare collection, in matching bindings, of the first two French editions of Denham and Clapperton’s travels in Africa. A few minor scuffs. Irregular foxing. From the J.-P. Morin library (Sotheby’s sale 2025). (Gay 337; Chadenat 558 “one of the most important works on this part of Africa”.)
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About the sale MONTIGNAC – 31st BOOK SALE – Day 1 of 4 – Nos. 1 to 549
Auction location
Auction time 08/19/2026 at 11:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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