[ETHIOPIA] HARRIS, W[illiam] Cornwallis

The Highlands of Aethiopia

London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1844. First Edition. First printing. Octavo (23cm). Three volumes half-bound in later green morocco and marbled paper, top edges gilt; marbled endpapers; I: [xx],428pp; II: [xii],430pp; III: [xii],436pp; 2 color lithographic frontispieces and dedication leaf, one tinted lithographic frontispiece, large folding map, and wood-engraved title page vignettes. Lithographs drawn on stone by W. L. Walton and printed by C. Hullmandel. A sturdy set, leather over spines dry and cracking, green leather elsewhere fading to brown, generally clean with very occasional faint foxing; old professional repairs to some folds of map and upper corners of three contents leaves in vol. III; generally Very Good.

Harris (1807-1848) was an English military engineer who spent considerable time in India with the East India Company. He is generally known for works on his voyages to South Africa and Ethiopia, especially for his natural history illustrations. "In September 1841 [Harris] was sent in charge of a mission to establish relations with the ancient Christian kingdom of Shoa in the highlands of Ethiopia. He returned to England with a commercial treaty with that state, and was knighted for his services" (ODNB). In this account, "the journey through the hinterlands of the country is described in great detail, as are the cultures of the various cities that were visited." CZECH p.72. ABBEY 290.

Price: $750.00

Go Back