The Rob Roy On The Jordan, Nile, Red Sea, and Gennesareth, &c. A Canoe Cruise in Palestine and Egypt, and the Waters of Damascus

MacGregor, J.

Published by John Murray, London, 1869

About this Item

Original red cover with gilt title to spine and gilt canoe (with sail) crocodile, oars. Spine damaged to the top and bottom. Corners bumped and discoloured. Boards worn and stained. FEP missing. 474pp. 7 maps ( 1 fold-out ) 3 colour & lots of b/w woodcuts. MACGREGOR, JOHN, commonly known as Rob Roy (1825-1892), philanthropist and traveller, horn on 24 Jan. 1825, was son of General Sir Duncan MacGregor. . During the summer of 1865 MacGregor launched his canoe the Rob Roy, and started on the first of those solitary cruises by which he is best known. This first Rob Roy was built of oak and covered fore and aft with cedar ; she was 15 feet in length by 2 feet 4 inches ; 9 inches deep, drew 3 inches of water, and weighed 80 lbs. The paddle was 7 feet long ; she carried a bamboo mast, lugsail and jib, and took baggage for three months. Starting down the Thames, and round the coast to Dover, MacGregor crossed the Channel by steamer and navigated a network of rivers, canals, and lakes, the chief of which were the Sambre, Meuse, Rhine, Main, Danube, Aar, Moselle, and Seine ; besides the lakes Constance, Zurich, and Lucerne. Lord Aberdeen, in another canoe, joined MacGregor for some part of the distance. The vovage was practically 'one of discovery.' The log was published in 1866 in the little book 'A Thousand Miles in the Rob Roy Canoe,' which was perhaps the most popular work of the year. Up to that time the canoe had hardly been known in England, and MacGregor may be considered the patron saint of canoeing and canoe clubs. In 1866 he made a second summer holiday trip in a new and smaller canoe through part of Norway and Sweden ; then by the Baltic to Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein, and so to the North Sea and Heligoland. In 1867 he varied his craft and took his holiday in a small yawl, built to his own design, also christened Rob Roy. He started down the Thames and crossed the Channel to France ; thence, after some sailing on the rivers, he came back to the Isle of Wight and eastward along the south coast to London. In November 1868 he once more took to the canoe, and, travelling by steamer to Alexandria, started on the most adventurous and perilous of his voyages, through the Suez Canal and down the Red Sea, and thence to Palestine, navigating the Jordan and Lake Gennesareth. Size: 8vo. Seller Inventory # 034026

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Rob Roy On The Jordan, Nile, Red Sea, ...

Publisher: John Murray, London

Publication Date: 1869

Binding: Cloth Gilt

Condition: Good & Sound