THE NILE QUEST THROUGH THREE GENERATIONS OF EXPLORERS

Burton, Richard F. (1821–1890). [Introduction Alan Moorehead]

The Lake Regions of Central Africa: A Picture of Exploration [Two-Volume Set] [ALS from Alan Moorehead to Publisher Ben Raeburn]

New York: Horizon Press, 1961.
BURTON, MOOREHEAD & FREYA STARK IN ONE EXTRAORDINARY ASSOCIATION. A profound literary association linking three generations of exploration.
This two-volume Horizon Press edition of Burton’s 1860 classic is distinguished by a remarkable laid-in autograph letter (ALS) from Alan Moorehead to his publisher, Ben Raeburn. 

Writing from Italy in 1961, Moorehead conveys his delight with the production and shares that the legendary explorer Freya Stark was so "astonished at its excellence" that she immediately commandeered the set for her own reading.

This copy, sourced directly from the estate of Ben Raeburn, represents a rare moment of professional camaraderie between the 20th century’s greatest chronicler of the Nile (Moorehead) and the woman who mastered the deserts of the East (Stark).

KEY FEATURES
+++ Unique Ephemera: Includes a handwritten letter on Moorehead’s personal stationery (Porto Ercole, May 30) regarding the receipt and quality of this specific edition.
+++ Historical Provenance: From the personal library of Horizon Press founder Ben Raeburn.
+++ Illustrations: Reproduces all 35 of the original 1860 woodcuts, capturing the ethnographic detail of Burton’s Zanzibar-to-Tanganyika trek.
+++ Literary Context: Edited and introduced by Moorehead, whose The White Nile remains the definitive popular history of the region.
+++ Specs: Two volumes in slipcase; 9.5 inches tall; Quarter-cloth bindings.

CONDITION: Near Fine in a Near Fine Slipcase -- The books are pristine, square, and tight, appearing unread. The slipcase remains structurally strong with only minor age-toning and light rubbing to the illustrated paste-on label. Internals are bright and crisp. An archive-quality example.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE --
Sir Richard F. Burton: The Maverick Polymath
Burton was the archetypal "unreliable narrator" of Victorian exploration, yet his Lake Regions remains a masterpiece of objective observation.

Unlike Speke, his partner-turned-rival, Burton viewed Africa through the eyes of a linguist and ethnographer. His prose is a dense thicket of cultural insight, providing the first European accounts of many East African tribes. His controversial nature—as a translator of 'forbidden' texts and a man who famously infiltrated Mecca in disguise—made him a figure of both awe and suspicion in the 1860s.

Alan Moorehead: The Modern Bridge
Moorehead’s role in this 1961 edition was more than just honorary. Having just published The White Nile (1960), he was the world’s leading authority on the romanticism and brutality of African discovery. His letter to Raeburn reveals a pride in craftsmanship; he viewed this Horizon Press reissue as a "literary delight" rather than a mere commercial reprint.

The Freya Stark Endorsement
The mention of Freya Stark (1893–1993) in the laid-in letter is the 'crown jewel' of this association. Stark was a successor to the Victorian explorers, particularly Burton, whose Memorial Medal she won in 1934. For Moorehead to note that Stark—a woman who famously survived the Hadhramaut alone—was 'astonished' by this set’s quality provides a peer-review that few other books can claim. It situates this specific set within the physical hands of the 'greatest living woman traveler' of the 1960s.

SUBJECTS: African Exploration, The Nile, Richard F. Burton, Alan Moorehead, Freya Stark, Horizon Press, Association Copies, Victorian Travel, Travel & Exploration, Biography, Correspondence, History.

Item #21229

Price: $325.00