The Illustrated London News. January to June 1878 by KAFFIR WAR IN CAPE COLONY; CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE) W. H. Overend; Kate Greenaway; et al. (illus) - 1878.

London.: George C. Leighton.. Volume LXXII.. 1878.. A three-quarter leather bound volume, 16 x 12 inches; 618 pp. January-June 1878. Two color plates. Tipped-in centerfold illustrations. A number of newspapers have the term "Foreign Postage" printed beside the masthead on the front page. Also, a number of issues have a circular stamp about one inch in diameter identifying US library ownership and a date of acquisition. Binding and contents in good condition, overall. Four major items dominate the news: the Ninth Kaffir War (1877-1879) in Cape Colony; the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) ending with a treaty in March 1878; the Opening of the Paris Exhibition with numerous extraordinary structures representing different nations; the British fleet in the Dardanelles and Sea of Marmara; there is also ongoing coverage relating to the transport from Egypt to London of the obelisk dubbed "Cleopatra's Needle," with a color plate showing in in situ on the Embankment. The ongoing articles relating to the first four topics are accompanied by numerous illustrations, many of them full or double page and of exceptional quality. Other illustrated articles of more limited scale, in terms of coverage, deal with the arrival of explorer H. M. Stanley in London, carrying with him sketches relating to the Congo, recast as double-page illustrations for the London News; other illustrated articles deal with the Wellington Monument at St. Paul's; a double-page view of York minster; two pages illustrating Ostrich farming in South Africa, and much more. Overall, a most interesting volume with heaviest coverage given over to events associated with the Ninth Kaffir War. Contents in good condition, bright and clean. .