[AFRICA]. BOWDICH (Thomas Edward). Voyage dans le pays d'Asc - Lot 4

[AFRICA]. BOWDICH (Thomas Edward). Voyage dans le pays d'Aschantie, ou Relation de l'ambassade envoyée dans ce royaume par les Anglais. An exploration into the heart of pre-colonial Africa, revealed by a daring young naturalist, brought to life by the pen of Walter Scott's French translator. Paris, Gide fils, 1819. One volume in-8 (210 x 140 mm). Contemporary binding in flamed tan basane, smooth spine, two red morocco parts and rich decoration of decorative and special ship's irons pushed in gold. 527 pp. 1 map. Slight wear. Small split at head of first spine. Some foxing. First French translation, by Defauconpret, of the famous report of "the Mission from Cape Coast castle to Ashantee", published in London in the same year 1819. It is illustrated with an out-of-text map. It was in 1817 that the young naturalist Thomas Edward Bowdich (1791-1824) set off with two companions to Kumasi to assert British influence in the regions controlled by the Ashanti kingdom (present-day Ghana). A "treaty of friendship" signed on September 7, 1817 was the immediate diplomatic result... Gay, 2861. A fine copy of this classic voyage to Africa.