Octavo (ca. 18,5 x12 cm). pp. Brown ink on paper. Presentation inscription on the first leaf "Frances Speke from Her Papa, February 16th, 1822", many entries noting the place as Jordans (Ilminster, Somerset) and date. Period green gilt tooled half sheep notebook with marbled boards and endpapers. Binding slightly rubbed on extremities, otherwise a very good manuscript. Nice manuscript book of poems and quotations which belonged to Frances Speke, an aunt of the famous African explorer John Hanning Speke (1827-1864). She was a daughter from the second marriage of John Speke's grandfather, William Speke (1798-1886). The book contains a presentation inscription on the first leaf: "Frances Speke from Her Papa, February 16th, 1822." There are over a hundred poems or sentences in the book, either written by Frances Speke and her acquaintances or copied from Byron, Thomas Moore and other poets, with occasional ink drawn vignettes. A number of entries was written in Jordans, Ilminster (Somerset) - the hereditary seat of the Speke family. "The tiny village of Dowlish Wake lies in the heart of Somersetshire, some two miles south-east of Ilminster and about 45 miles from Bath: and here, in the presence of his old travelling companion Grant, of Dr. Livingstone (who had returned to England two months before) and of Sir Roderick Murchinson, Speke was buried. The parish church is the shrine of many generations of the Speke family, and a window and monument have been erected to the explorer's memory. Jordans, the ancestral home and still in the hands of the Speke family, is in a neighbourhood parish, Ashill, lying about 2 miles to the north of Ilminster" (Thomas, H.B. Notes on the death of Speke in 1864// The Uganda Journal. Vol. 13, 1949. P. 106-107). Seller Inventory # MC3

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Manuscript Poetry Book of Frances Speke, an ...

Publication Date: 1822

Binding: None

Condition: None

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Globus Books is an independent San Francisco-based bookshop and a member of the American Booksellers? Association and the Antiquarian Booksellers? Association of America and has been in business since 1971. It was opened originally by Vladimir Azar as a shop for the Russian emigre public of the Bay Area. A small press operated there in the 1970s under the same name in the same building. Now, 50+ years in business, the shop still occupies the same premises with continued success. Globus Rare Books and Archives is the department within Globus Books that specializes in rare travel and exploration related items from around the world with an emphasis on the Americas, the Pacific and Russian explorers and travellers. Our goal is to seek out and offer rare and unique antiquarian items, including rare books, photographs, photo-albums, watercolors, drawings, manuscripts, archives, maps and prints. Our team has many decades of experience helping to build many institutional and private collections across the USA and the world and we have seen and handled many important antiquarian items and collections. We issue monthly catalogues with the newest acquisitions available for our subscribers. We participate in many US and International antiquarian book fairs. Follow us on social media to receive the latest news and offers. You can browse our collections in person during the shop?s opening hours by appointment : Tuesday to Sunday, 11 to 5.

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