London, Travel Book Club, 1939.Travel Book Club edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.J.H. MacCallum Scott was a travel writer active in the late 1930s; the Travel Book Club was a subscription reprint imprint operating in the period.
London, Travel Book Club, 1938.Travel Book Club edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.J.H. MacCallum Scott was a travel writer active in the late 1930s; the Travel Book Club was a subscription reprint imprint operating in the period.
The Final Mysteries of Exploration
London [&c.], Thomas Nelson, 1923.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 5/-.
A work of popular geography and exploration writing by the author of The 39 Steps, covering the remaining relatively unknown regions of the world as of the early 1920s, the poles, the depths of the ocean, the interiors of New Guinea and Arabia, and Everest (which had just been first attempted).
London, Methuen, 1926.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
An attractively illustrated book on southern India.
and the founding of the free state: a story of work and exploration
London, Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1885.
First edition. 2 vols. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth, lettered in red to upper covers and gilt to spines.
Considered by the author to be his most important work, developing on his belief in the 'gospel of enterprise'. James Edge Partington was a British anthropologist, acknowledged as an authority on Pacific ethnology.
or the quest rescue and retreat of Emin Governor of Equatoria
London, Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, 1890.
First edition, trade issue. 8vo. 2 vols. Original pictorial cloth blocked in black & gilt.
An attractive first edition account of Stanley's last major African venture, an attempt to extract Emin Pasha, a European doctor serving as governor of a remote Sudanese province that had been cut off by a religious uprising. Between 1887 and 1889 his expedition forced a path through the Congo basin and dense, unmapped rainforest, reached the Great Lakes, and eventually made for the Indian Ocean with Emin in tow. The journey was catastrophic in human cost but geographically significant, bringing the first detailed reports of Lake Edward and the glaciated Ruwenzori mountains, long rumoured in classical sources.
An account of a sporting tour of some officers of the guards in the Soudan during the winter of 1874-5
London, Smith, Elder, 1876.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth with gilt.
An account of a hunting and exploration tour in the Sudan by several officers of the British Guards during the winter of 1874–1875. Myers was a British Army surgeon attached to the Coldstream Guards.
to Portarlington and Geelong
Melbourne, Howard Smith Co. Ltd, n.d..
Landscape 4to. Original decorative wrappers with inset colour illustration to the upper cover.
Company-issued promotional booklet advertising excursion routes on the S.S. Edina, known throughout Australia as "The Old Lady of Port Phillip", with scenic photography and route details for Port Phillip Bay and Geelong.
Edinburgh & London, Oliver and Boyd, 1937.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
The story of a motor trip through Europe.
Christchurch, Wellington, Dunedin [&c.], Whitcombe & Tombs, 1909.
8vo. Original sage cloth lettered and blocked in gilt.
Artist Augustus Earle's illustrated account recounts his stay among Maori communities, describing landscapes, customs, inter-tribal warfare and his own adventures.
![Oliver F. Butler, Iraq, first edition, [c.1922]](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/87399-300x300.jpg)
Travel
Photographic Studies
N.p., , n.d. [c.1922].
First edition. Oblong 8vo. Original pictorial wrappers, tied with pink string.
A beautiful series of photographs capturing scenes in Basra, Baghdad and Al-Qurnah. There are also handsome images of the Tigris, the Ruins of Babylon (Hillah) and the Ctesiphon Arch (Taq Kasra).
LibraryHub locates just two holdings in the UK, at Cambridge and SOAS.
A record of travel & exploration
London, Constable, 1922.
First edition. 2 vols, 8vo. Original dark green cloth lettered in gilt to spines.
A travel narrative: Philby describes his expedition across central Arabia (from the Arabian Gulf via Al Uqayr, through the desert, meeting Ibn Sa'ud in Riyadh, then crossing towards the Red Sea, arriving in Jeddah at end-1917).
Containing a concise account of all the countries in that quarter of the globe hitherto visited by Europeans; with the manners and customs of the inhabitants
London, for Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1819.
First edition. 3 vols. 8vo. Publisher's advertisement to vol.III. Contemporary half calf, marbled foredges, gilt-lettered labels to the spine within raised bands.
An uncommon set complete. The author/compiler Hutton was a popular English novelist of the period, who was interested in science and spent some time compiling these books from famous works of exploration and ethnography. Volume I consists of exploration of north-east Africa and has a folding map of that area. Volume II comprises an exploration of southern Africa, as well as central & western Africa, and has a folding map of southern Africa, with inset of South Africa. Volume III covers a very substantial proportion of West Africa, plus the Maghreb and part of the Sahara interior.
including a residence among the Bakhtiyari and other wild tribes before the discovery of Nineveh
London, John Murray, 1887.
First edition. 2 vol. 8vo. Original decorative cloth lettered in gilt to spine.
In 1840-42 the archaeologist and diplomat Henry Layard travelled through Iran and Iraq, learning Arabic and Persian and venturing among tribal peoples such as the Bakhtiyari. In this two-volume memoir he describes visits to ancient sites, encounters with local rulers, a lion hunt and evenings where chiefs recited poetry.
A handbook to certain of the rivers and canals of Holland, Friesland, and the north of Belgium
London, Jarrold, n.d. [c.1894].
First edition. 8vo. Original pictorial blue cloth stamped in gilt and black.
Davies was a Victorian travel writer known for guides to waterways. This handbook describes cruising routes along the rivers and canals of Holland, Friesland and northern Belgium, with practical advice for yachtsmen and a fold-out map.
London, John Murray, 1950.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 21s.
Fermor recounts his travels through the Caribbean, providing vivid descriptions of the islands' cultures, histories, and landscapes
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1951.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 15/-.
British hunter & journalist Izzard's account of his search for the 'buru', a 20-foot reptile rumoured to inhabit India's Northeastern frontier, sponsored by The Daily Mail. Izzard would subsequently embark on a similarly unsuccessful hunt for the yeti. A key work in the cryptozoology canon.
A Winter in the Atacama Desert
London, Robert Hale, 1960.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue boards. Dust-jacket.
The Story of a Minor Siege
London, Methuen, 1898.
First edition. Ex college library. 8vo. Original red cloth ruled and blocked in gilt.
This book provides a first-hand account of the 1895 Siege of Chitral, where British forces, under the command of Sir George Scott Robertson, were besieged in Chitral Fort following a local coup. The narrative offers insights into British military strategy and the geopolitical significance of the region during the Great Game.
London, Digby, Long, 1892.
First edition. 8vo. Original bevelled red cloth cloth lettered in gilt.
A travelogue detailing the author's journey through Iceland's landscapes and culture, providing valuable insights into Icelandic society and geography at the time.
London, Herbert Joseph, [1938].
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth-backed boards. Dust-jacket, priced 12s6d.
An account of an expedition in New Guinea. With plates.
London, Longmans, Green, 1895.
First edition. 8vo. Original green gilt-pictorial cloth.
A tale of camp life and adventure in a hitherto little known part of Australia.
A Chapter of African History
Oxford, at the Clarendon Press, 1928.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Printed dust-jacket, priced 18s.
An excellent and detailed account of the Zambesi Expeditions of 1858-63. The book is based mainly on the daily journal kept by Sir John Kirk, Livingstone's lieutenant on the Expedition. It contains much material which was not given to the public in Livingstone's description. Kirk was one of the first explorers to carry a camera, and the book is illustrated from his own photographs.
London, Morgan and Scott, [1893].
First edition. 8vo. Original purple pictorial cloth lettered in gilt.
A Story of Missionary Perils and Triumphs in Tongoa, New Hebrides.
London & New York, Routledge, 1875.
First edition in English, first issue (with printer's credit and planned sequel notification to last printed page). 8vo. Original pictorial cloth.
An accurate picture of Arctic life and of the Arctic geography known to the world of 1864. The account of the Franklin expedition and of the persistent and heroic search for its relief is carefully studied and complete.
Hong Kong, Ye Old Printerie, 1931.
Second edition, revised & enlarged. 8vo. Original cloth-backed boards with printed spine label.
An attractive book on the former British colony and dependent territory of the UK.
Travel
London, John Murray, 1926.
First edition. 8vo. Original pictorial blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 21/-.
A travelogue written by Angus Buchanan, a Scottish explorer and naturalist, and was published in 1926. The book documents Buchanan's extensive travels across the Sahara Desert, covering his journey from Morocco to Egypt.
...with an introduction by Hilaire Belloc
London, Jonathan Cape, 1930.
'New Edition'. 8vo. Original blue cloth lettered in gilt. Dust-jacket, priced 21s.
Mountaineering in East Africa, accompanied by numerous collotype photographic plates.
London, Routledge, 1931.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth lettered in gilt to spine. Dust-jacket.
An account of Hedin's journey across the Gobi desert, from Paotou to Urumchi in the years of 1927-28, which was the first step of his Sino-Swedish expedition.
and Their Strange Stories
London, Sampson Low, Marston, 1893.
First edition. 8vo. Original dark olive pictorial cloth lettered in gilt.
A fascinating collection of folklore and legends as told to Stanley by Central African tribes-folk.
London, Travel Book Club, 1939.
Travel Book Club edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
Rather lovely jacket artwork on this thrilling account of exploration of one of Russia's least forgiving regions.
London, George Allen & Unwin, 1956.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 16s.
Compelling insight into the Kuwait of today, or at least of the 1950s, by a woman writer.
London, Travel Book Club, 1938.
Travel Book Club edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
Robert Edison Fulton's solo round-the-world tour on a two-cylinder Douglas motorcycle between July, 1932 and December, 1933.
South Africa, The Automobile Association of South Africa, 1939.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth, gilt. Dust-jacket, priced 20/-.
An attractive guide to the then blossoming road routes that were opening up South Africa to the tourist.
London, Jarrolds, 1957.
First edition. 8vo. Original red boards. Dust-jacket, priced 18s.
A motorcycle tour through Switzerland and Italy to the continent of Africa.
London, Seeley, 1910.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth gilt, gilt vignette to upper cover, top edge gilt.
An important account of the Rendille peoples of the northern Eastern province of Kenya, near Lake Stefanie. Uncommon.
Travel
A Historical and Intimate Description of its Chief Places of Interest
Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Hankow, Yokohama, Kelly & Walsh, 1920.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth stamped in black and gilt.
A very good copy of this important essay on Peking in the 1920s, by an author who lived in China for many years and is well-regarded for her observations of Chinese life and history.
London, Methuen, 1915.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth lettered in blind to upper cover and gilt to spine.
Grace Ellison (d. 1935) was a journalist and suffragette with a fascination for Turkish culture. This book, first published in 1915, is a collection of accounts originally written for The Daily Telegraph about her stay in the harem of a Turkish nobleman. Keen to dispel the sensationalist Western view of the harem, Ellison paints an intimate portrait of the luxurious but secluded life of women in their segregated portion of the household. Subjects covered include fashion, social events, polygamy and the bonds between family members.
being a description of the Great South Desert of Arabia known as Rub' al Khali
London, Cassell, 1933.
First edition. 8vo. Original brown cloth.
Philby embarked on notable journeys, most significantly across the 'empty quarter' in 1932, travelling by camel and car. He meticulously documented geographical and scientific data, secretly recording his findings at night, wary of his distrustful Arab companions.
South Africa 1929
n.p., International Geological Congress, [1929].
Index, introduction (fold-out black and white colour maps) + 22 booklets (incomplete, lacking 1 issue 'C19'), with additional general programme (32 pages + pull-out map). 8vo. Loose as issued, housed in original grey cloth slip-case with French title and the Congress logo to spine.
An important series of pamphlets published for the International Geological Congress of 1929, including contributions by noted geologists such as du Toit, Rogers, Haughton, Hall & Wagner and others, being guides to accompany delegates on excursions all over South Africa to various geologically noteworthy sites. Places include Chapman's Peak & the peninsula, Kimberley, Pilanesberg, Pretoria salt-pan and iron ore deposits, Vredefort, the Eastern Escarpment, Port Elizabeth, southern & northern Rhodesia, among others. Rare.
Knap U Engels Op (Brush up your English)
London, Dent, 1941.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.
From the famous 'Brush Up' series.
Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesian Printers Ltd, 1956.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket.
A very good first edition of this fascinating work on the modern history and development of Katanga, one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914, written by someone who was actively involved over various periods of time.