Octavo ca. 18x11,5 cm. 4 pp. Black ink on laid paper. Mild fold marks, abrasion along one edge where formerly mounted, otherwise a very good letter. A lively letter by a British African explorer William Cotton Oswell. "In the 1850-s he explored the Kalahari desert in Bechuanaland (now Botswana) and located Lake Ngami; later he participated in expeditions to the Zambezi river with David Livingstone, and one of Livingstone's children, born in Botswana in 1851, was named William Oswell Livingstone. The species Rhinoceros oswellii was named for him (this name is no longer used in modern taxonomy). Livingstone described Oswell as having had lucky escapes, having been tossed by a rhinoceros on two occasions" (Wikipedia). From the letter: " I am not in town more than 6 times a year? & I find gentlemen who sit at home in their own arm chairs are not always very prone to take opinions from Mumbo Jumbo? latest arrival from the Mts. Of the Moon. We are so apt to side with our own ideas that we very diligently sift other people's to see if they contain those pearls of great price and if they don't why they're rubbish! You remember the story told of Lord Glenelg when Colonial Sectry? receiving a deputation from Natal? suggest his own project plans & refusing to listen to said deputation on any point. ?Good morning? my Lord'? ?Good morning Gentlemen - by the way? how is Natal?'? this just as they were leaving the room .". Seller Inventory # MB70

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Bibliographic Details

Title: Oswell, William Cotton (1818-1893). ...

Publication Date: 1850

Binding: None

Condition: None

Store Description

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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Globus Books LLC
332 Balboa St., San Francisco, CA, 94118, U.S.A.

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