Sunday 9 January 2011

Mungo Park Part IV

The third of this series of posts on Mungo Park and his Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa highlighted two early editions, one English (1810) and one French (1800). Neither is a first edition in its respective country. But here is the first American edition, published by James Humphreys of Philadelphia in 1800. The book is a lovely example of printing and book production.

Unlike nearly all editions, the American first has all the parts of the British first. The only differences are a list of the American subscribers' names rather than the British list and the exclusion of two of three maps, all five illustrations and a music score. The one map in the American is the primary one of Park's route on his travels. Below is the title page, dedication and list of subscribers' names. Interesting to note that three are from my province of Nova Scotia.








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