Scenes in Kafirland, and incidents in the Kafir War of 1851-2-3 from sketches by two officers of the 43rd Lt.-Infantry
Year: 1854
Edition: First edition
Publisher: London; Messrs. Dickinson Bro's
Category: Africa
A beautiful colour plate book, folio, 522 x 363 mm. Original cloth with a black label on the frontboard with the titles in gilt. Rebacked with a green morocco spine and the corners strengthened with green morocco as well. The spine divided in six compartments by five raised bands lined in gilt with triple gilt lines at head and tail as well. Gilt title in the second compartment.
Some rubbing of the cloth. A light crease in front free endpaper (ffep), preliminary blank, title page, text page and first guard paper. Some short tears in the margin of the ffep. Bookplate of a private collector on front pastedown. Occasionally some very light offsetting from the plates to the guard paper.
The plates very clean with bright and vibrant colours.
The book was printed with tinted lithographs, after which, in a part of the edtion, the plates have been coloured by hand. This is one of the copies with finely handcoloured plates. The book contains 21 lithographs on 18 sheets. All sheets protected by heavy guard paper.
The list of plates, followed by [sequence nr. in Abbey] is as follows:
1) St. Thomas Mountain and Kabusie Peak [15]
2) Troops driving captured Cattle [8]
3) Scene on Patrol in the Amatolas in April 1852 [13]
4) The Gulu Mountain [11]
5) View of the Post at Keiskama Hoek and Quilli Quilly Mountain [5]
6) Mount Mc Donald and the Bomah Pass [4]
7) A Convoy of Waggons [2]
8) Cutting Mealies in Golu Valley [3]
9) The Stretcher [7]
9) "I am the Resurrection and the Life." Saith the Lord [7]
10) View of the Keiskama Hoek and Mount Kemp Quilly Quilly [6]
11) Coll. Eyre's Brigade [10]
12) The Hogsback and Gaika's Kop [9]
13) Kafir and Hottentot War-Party [12]
14) A Kraal of Waggons [19]
15) The Hill Fort and Mess House [1]
16) Officers pack Horses in Patrol Order [14]
16) Kafir Women [14]
17) Prince Kama [16]
17) Cobus Congo and his Wife noseki [17]
18) Fingoe War Dance by Moonlight [18]
Abbey lists 2 sheets with 2 plates each, while our copy has 3 sheets with 2 plates each. Despite the fact that Abbey Travel thus lists 19 sheets, we assume that in reality the correct number should be 18 sheets.
Mendelssohn:
A collection of interesting lithographic views. The initials of the artists
are L.G. and H.R.
Note.-On examination of Hart's Army List for 1853, it appears that
the only officers of the 43rd Light Infantry answering to these initials
were lieutenants Lumley Graham and Hugh Robinson.
Rare.
Abbey Travel 344, Hosken p. 178, Mendelssohn I, p. 801.
Click on a picture to enlarge.
