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 the Continent, Down the River Zambesi, to the Eastern Ocean by Livingstone, David - 1857

London: John Murray, 1857. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good. 8vo. 687 pp. Bound in original publisher's light brown cloth with a decorative border stamped in blind on the front board and gilt lettering on the spine, orange-brown endpapers and pastedowns. Folding engraved frontispiece depicting Victoria Falls (black and white), engraved portrait of Livingstone with tissue guard facing page 1, 22 additional plates (all engraved and in black and white), title page illustration of the tse-tse fly and numerous other illustrations (1 full page), fold-out geological cross-section, fold-out map at the end, and folding map in pocket on the rear board. 8 pages of publisher's advertisements (dated November 1, 1857) at the rear. Collates complete. Mendelssohn 908, PMM 341. Livingstone is widely admired as one of history's greatest explorers and an ardent opponent of the slave trade. This book is an account of Livingstone's exploration of Lake Ngami, the Zambesi River, and Victoria Falls. An attractive example of one of Livingstone's most important books, widely regarded as a classic of its kind and an essential part of any serious collection of books on travel and exploration. A Very Good book with a tiny bump to the top corner of the front board, off-setting to the pastedowns, and a few hints of wear to the extremities, leaves and plates are very clean, wonderful Victorian gift inscription dated December 24, 1857 on the top of the title page.