The Achievements of Stanley and other African Explorers

J. T. Headley

Published by Quaker City Publishing Company, Philadelphia, 1878

About this Item

Appears to be a first edition (SD). I'm listing this because I couldn't find another copy that was published by Quaker City Publishing Company. Not sure if that's important to anyone, but it does seem sort of odd that there are no others. Hubbard Brothers copyrighted it in 1878. I'm not going to spend too much time on the description of this book. Take a look at the photos of the covers. That should give you a pretty clear impression of their condition. The book is very square and the pages, all 605 of them, are quite solidly bound, nicely tight. The only cracks I'm seeing are between both inside covers and facing end papers. You can see the webbing in both cases. There's a slight bit of give if you pull outward on them, but there isn't any sense of risk of detachment. They are probably a good candidates for a successful repair. The pages are in pretty decent shape, taking into account the book's age. They are quite clean. I saw some soiling here and there, but not all that much. There's a moderate amount of creasing, but there's a good number of tip of the top corner creases, corners that got squinched (I insist that's a word, despite the red line that appears underneath it whenever I use it). There are no markings in the book. There are no attachments, no bookplates, NOT ex-library. The foldout map is present and in good shape. It does have a an inch or so of loss where it attaches at the bottom edge. However, the loss is entirely the white margin above the actual map. The mapped area has no loss and no tears. On the rear of the blank end paper that follows it there is an old signature. The first name is clear (Frank). The last name not so much. I'd go with Henry (50-50). Underneath, I guess he meant Philadelphia, but he wrote Philada or Philicla. There is no other writing of any kind to be found anywhere in the book. The title page describes the book as 'Richly Illustrated'. I wouldn't argue with that. It also says 'Sold Only By Subscription.' 'The story of these wonderful adventures and brilliant achievements from first to last is fully set forth. The whole having been carefully prepared.' Addendum: Curiously, I found a card in the book with the signature of an Alice Harris. That, combined with the book being about the Congo, brought to mind the name of Alice Seely Harris, the renowned photographer who campaigned for the rights of Congolese natives. I scoured the Internet and couldn't find an example of her autograph or signature. I'm NOT including this card in the sale, but if anybody can locate an example of her autograph I'd appreciate if you could let me know. If it matches (the signature is a very distinctive one) I would probably then include the card in the sale after adjusting the price. Seller Inventory # 002436

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Achievements of Stanley and other ...

Publisher: Quaker City Publishing Company, Philadelphia

Publication Date: 1878

Binding: Hardcover

Condition: Good Plus

Edition: 1st Edition