ISMAILIA; A Narrative of the Expedition to Central Africa for the Suppresison of the Slave Trade organized by Ismail, Khedive of Egypt, with (2) maps, portraits and upward of fifty full-page illustrations by Zwecker and Durand
NY: Harper & Brothers, 1875. Zwecker. First American edn. Large 8vo, pp. 542. Bound in brown cloth stamped in gilt. A fine copy. Item #55405
Baker wrote this work in only 64 days, as a record of his journey and administration including the first steps taken to suppress the Central African slave trade. "He was the first Englishman to undertake high office under the Egyptian government" for which services he was decorated by the latter and received enthusiastically upon his return to England. DNB, Supplement. In 1869 the Khedive appointed Baker governor-general of the Equatorial Nile basin and charged him with enforcing the Khedive's authority and suppressing the slave trade in Central Africa. Commanding a force of more than 1500 Egyptian troops, Baker served for four years. "This work by the celebrated traveller and sportsman describes his extremely difficult journey to, and administration in, the Sudan. He was the first Englishman to take high office under the Egyptian government. Although well- equipped and accompanied by a substantial number of troops, he had to contend with the hostility of the slave- traders (who fought several pitched battles against him) as well as that of the terrain" - Blackmer sale.
Price: $300.00 save 20% $240.00