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Voyage to Abyssinia

1814réf. 885241814. First Edition. EAST AFRICA SALT Henry. A Voyage to Abyssinia and Travels into the Interior of that Country ExecutedÉ in the Years 1809 and 1810. London: F.C. and J. Rivington 1814. Large quarto contemporary full diced brown calf rebacked black morocco spine label raised bands original marbled endpapers and edges. $4800.First edition of this fascinating travel narrative chronicling SaltÕs expeditions across Egypt and Ethiopia illustrated with two vignettes and 34 splendid copper-engraved plates and maps four folding one hand-colored in contemporary calf boards.The renowned English diplomat archaeologist Henry Salt initially studied as a painter and it was his artistic talents that Òrecommended him to the collector George Annesley Viscount of Valentia who took him on a tour of the East in 1802-06 during which he visited Egypt Ethiopia and India. In 1809-10 Salt returned to Ethiopia as a quasi-official envoy under CanningÕs sponsorship marching from the Red Sea coast with an escort of 160 bearers to explore trade and diplomatic links with the Ethiopian emperor Wolde Selassie. Britain fearing a French alliance with Egypt wished to secure a port on the Red Sea. Salt carried out a little archaeology discovering at Aksum three large Ethiopian inscriptionsÓ and documenting his work in this impressive volume Howgego II:S6. SaltÕs role in three key excavations Belzoni Caviglia and dÕAthanasi yielded splendid collections of Egyptian antiquities many of which are now in the British Museum Clayton 44. In 1815 Salt was appointed Consul-General in Egypt and a year later together with John Burckhardt employed Giovanni Baptista Belzoni to remove the colossal bust of Rameses II from Thebes now also in the British Museum. For this Salt was hailed as Òthe second Lord Elgin.Ó Voyage to Abyssinia includes Òparticulars respecting the aboriginal African tribes extending from Mosambique to the borders of EgyptÓ and a lengthy glossary of local languages. The numerous full-page illustrations are made by Charles Heath from original sketches by Salt and include Òperhaps the earliest printed illustration of hippo shootingÓ Czech which took place on the River Tacazzi. Blackmer 1479. Gay 184. Czech African Big Game Hunting 141. Old bookbinder ticket to front pastedown.Large folding hand-colored map reinforced along fold on verso infrequent spotting to text. A very good copy in an attractive binding. hardcover