Nov 7, 2023 10:00 EST
Rare Books, Autographs & Maps including the Esmond Bradley Martin Collection
177
David Livingstone presents his Missionary Travels and Researches to Lord Shaftesbury
Estate / Collection: The Esmond Bradley Martin Collection
LIVINGSTONE, DAVID
Missionary travels and researches in South Africa; including a sketch of sixteen years' residence in the interior of Africa, and a journey from the Cape of Good Hope to Loanda on the west coast; thence across to the continent, down the river Zambesi, to the eastern ocean. London: John Murray, 1857. First edition, a presentation copy to Livingstone's patron Lord Shaftesbury, with a letter tipped-in gifting the book. The inscription reads "Lord Shaftesbury/with respectful salutations/of/David Livingstone/London 30th Octr/1857"; this date precedes the official date of publication by ten days. The presentation letter is dated November 3rd. Slightly later deep blue calf, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; housed in a leather-backed clamshell case. 8 1/4 x 5 1/8 inches; [x], 687, [1] pp. publisher's advertisements not bound in; folding lithotint frontispiece printed by Day, engraved author's portrait by William Hall, 23 plates (1 folding, one in colors by Day), 1 folded map and 1 folded map in back pocket, several illustrations in the text. Slight fading to spine, generally a very attractive copy externally, with very light wear; generally a fresh copy.
The first edition of this book is bibliographically complex, with no clear sequence of issues. The illustrations are known in three states: one state has a wood-engraved frontispiece and all of the plates are wood-engraved; another state has a tinted lithographic frontispiece and two lithographic plates (one tinted), all printed by W. West; and a third state has a tinted lithographic frontispiece and two tinted lithographic plates, all printed by Day & Son, as here. This state tends to be associated with the earliest presentation copies. The letterpress is found in two settings: in one the text ends on p. 711 and pp. '8*'-'8+' are inserted between pp. 8 and 9, and in the other the text ends on p. 687 (as here). These settings are found with either a wood-engraved or lithographic frontispiece. The book is quite rare inscribed. The date of the inscription here is exceptionally early, as befits the importance of the recipient to Livingstone and his endeavors.
The tipped-in autograph letter signed by Livingstone presenting the book to Lord Shaftesbury is 4 pp., on a folded sheet of good-quality notepaper. It contains some interesting sentiments: "My earnest hope is that Africa and England may become more closely linked than heretofore -- the discoveries here recorded seem to indicate that the new materials of our commerce may be got by free labour and if we ever feel our dependance [sic] on the free negroes as we now do on the slaves we may hope that the sympathies of Christian men may be drawn forth for their elevation from heathenism..."
Livingstone's account of his first expedition, made 1853-6, this copy an extremely early presentation made by Livingstone to Antony Ashley Cooper, Lord Shaftesbury, a noted humanitarian who was chairman of the London Missionary Society, who were early supporters of his travels in Africa. "Perhaps the most famous of all African exploration books, this recounts Dr. Livingstone's travels through South Africa, with the discovery of Lake Ngami while accompanied by his wife and William Cotton Oswell. Oswell and the author continued their journey, discovering the Zambesi River and, eventually, the Victoria Falls. There are numerous sporting incidents with hunts after lions, buffalo, elephants and a variety of plains game, even though Livingstone did not consider himself a sportsman" (Czech). Abbey Travel 347; Czech (Africa), p. 168; Mendelssohn I, pp. 908-910; Henze III, p. 270; Gay 3034; PMM 341; cf. Kainbacher p. 87.
Sold for $8,820
Estimated at $6,000 - $9,000
Includes Buyer's Premium
Estate / Collection: The Esmond Bradley Martin Collection
LIVINGSTONE, DAVID
Missionary travels and researches in South Africa; including a sketch of sixteen years' residence in the interior of Africa, and a journey from the Cape of Good Hope to Loanda on the west coast; thence across to the continent, down the river Zambesi, to the eastern ocean. London: John Murray, 1857. First edition, a presentation copy to Livingstone's patron Lord Shaftesbury, with a letter tipped-in gifting the book. The inscription reads "Lord Shaftesbury/with respectful salutations/of/David Livingstone/London 30th Octr/1857"; this date precedes the official date of publication by ten days. The presentation letter is dated November 3rd. Slightly later deep blue calf, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt; housed in a leather-backed clamshell case. 8 1/4 x 5 1/8 inches; [x], 687, [1] pp. publisher's advertisements not bound in; folding lithotint frontispiece printed by Day, engraved author's portrait by William Hall, 23 plates (1 folding, one in colors by Day), 1 folded map and 1 folded map in back pocket, several illustrations in the text. Slight fading to spine, generally a very attractive copy externally, with very light wear; generally a fresh copy.
The first edition of this book is bibliographically complex, with no clear sequence of issues. The illustrations are known in three states: one state has a wood-engraved frontispiece and all of the plates are wood-engraved; another state has a tinted lithographic frontispiece and two lithographic plates (one tinted), all printed by W. West; and a third state has a tinted lithographic frontispiece and two tinted lithographic plates, all printed by Day & Son, as here. This state tends to be associated with the earliest presentation copies. The letterpress is found in two settings: in one the text ends on p. 711 and pp. '8*'-'8+' are inserted between pp. 8 and 9, and in the other the text ends on p. 687 (as here). These settings are found with either a wood-engraved or lithographic frontispiece. The book is quite rare inscribed. The date of the inscription here is exceptionally early, as befits the importance of the recipient to Livingstone and his endeavors.
The tipped-in autograph letter signed by Livingstone presenting the book to Lord Shaftesbury is 4 pp., on a folded sheet of good-quality notepaper. It contains some interesting sentiments: "My earnest hope is that Africa and England may become more closely linked than heretofore -- the discoveries here recorded seem to indicate that the new materials of our commerce may be got by free labour and if we ever feel our dependance [sic] on the free negroes as we now do on the slaves we may hope that the sympathies of Christian men may be drawn forth for their elevation from heathenism..."
Livingstone's account of his first expedition, made 1853-6, this copy an extremely early presentation made by Livingstone to Antony Ashley Cooper, Lord Shaftesbury, a noted humanitarian who was chairman of the London Missionary Society, who were early supporters of his travels in Africa. "Perhaps the most famous of all African exploration books, this recounts Dr. Livingstone's travels through South Africa, with the discovery of Lake Ngami while accompanied by his wife and William Cotton Oswell. Oswell and the author continued their journey, discovering the Zambesi River and, eventually, the Victoria Falls. There are numerous sporting incidents with hunts after lions, buffalo, elephants and a variety of plains game, even though Livingstone did not consider himself a sportsman" (Czech). Abbey Travel 347; Czech (Africa), p. 168; Mendelssohn I, pp. 908-910; Henze III, p. 270; Gay 3034; PMM 341; cf. Kainbacher p. 87.
Auction: Rare Books, Autographs & Maps including the Esmond Bradley Martin Collection, Nov 7, 2023
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Successful Auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps Tops $1 Million!
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November 7, 2023 Sale Featured the Esmond Bradley Martin Collection of Africana & Travel
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Consignments Are Currently Being Accepted for Future Auctions
NEW YORK, NY -- Doyle's successful auction of Rare Books, Autographs & Maps on November 7, 2023 topped $1 million amid competitive international bidding. Offerings in this popular sale spanned early illuminated manuscripts to modern literary first editions.
The Esmond Bradley Martin Collection of Africana and Travel comprised fascinating material that attracted bidders from around the world. Highlighting the collection was a copy of the first Latin edition of the earliest published collection of voyages, including those of Columbus and Vespucci: the 1508 Milan Fracanzo da Montalboddo, which achieved a strong $239,400. The collection also featured a rare uncut copy of Livio Sanuto's 1588 atlas of Africa that doubled its estimate at $25,200, as well as a group of 19th and early 20th century material relating to Zanzibar that attracted intense competition, sending the lots soaring over expectations. (Read more about Esmond Bradley Martin below.)
Property of other owners was highlighted by a first edition of Charles Darwin’s groundbreaking scientific work, On the Origin of Species, 1859, which realized $94,500. This copy bore provenance of Charles Darwin's great-grandson Quentin Keynes, to the naturalist Richard Bayard Dominick, thence by descent to the consignor.
Robert Browning's first edition copy of John Keats’ poem, Endymion, 1818, sold for $37,800, many times its $7,000-10,000 estimate. The poem begins with the well-known verse, "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever."
The selection of livres des artistes featured François-Louis Schmied's Daphne in a major Art Deco binding by Pierre Legrain, 1924, one of 140 copies. The book tripled its $8,000-12,000 estimate, selling for $32,760.
Manuscripts in the sale were highlighted by a medieval manuscript on paper, Calculus temporum Ecclesiasticus, which sailed past its estimate of $3,000-5,000 to achieve an exceptional $31,500. This fascinating calendrical manuscript in Latin, circa 1360, possibly English in origin, was once the property of antiquary and collector Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872).
100 years before the Revolution: from Plymouth Colony to the Salem Witch Trials - The Victor Gulotta Collection, offered a curated collection of 17th and 18th century manuscripts documenting life in colonial New England. Among the rarities were a 1691 document signed by two notorious Salem witch trials magistrates John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin that realized $5,670, a document from 1686/87 signed by Edmund Andros as Governor of the Dominion of New England that sold for $5,670, and a 1656 Boston court document relating to a divorce case that achieved $6,300, all three exceeding their estimates.
Esmond Bradley Martin
Esmond Bradley Martin (1941-2018) was educated as a geographer and philosopher. He and his wife Chryssee had an enduring fascination with Africa, and settled in Nairobi, Kenya, in the mid-1970s. He wrote extensively, oftentimes in conjunction with his wife, publishing works including Zanzibar. Tradition and Revolution, Hamish Hamilton, 1978; Cargoes of the east. The ports, trade, and culture of the Arabian Seas and western Indian Ocean, Elm Tree Press, 1978; and many other works on African history and conservation. In the late 1970s, he began extensive research into the illegal trade in elephant ivory and rhino horn, which included substantial stints incognito posing as a buyer of illicit wildlife products. For a while, he served as special envoy for rhino conservation for the United Nations. He continued this work until 2018 , when tragically he was stabbed to death in his Nairobi home
For about thirty years, beginning in the mid-1960s, Esmond Bradley Martin assiduously collected books and manuscripts on Africa and its history, acquiring a phenomenal collection of letters by many of the major English explorers of the nineteenth century, as well as numerous rarities from earlier centuries. He was buying at a time when troves of such material surfaced frequently at English auctions. Doyle was privileged to offer the first selection of his collection in the November 7 auction. A second and final portion will be offered early next year.
We Invite You to Auction!
Consignments are currently being accepted for future auctions. We invite you to contact us for a complimentary auction evaluation. Our Specialists are always available to discuss the sale of a single item or an entire collection.
For information, please contact Peter Costanzo at 212-427-4141, ext 248, or Edward Ripley-Duggan at ext. 234, or email Books@Doyle.com
