*
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 29, 2024, 02:37:25 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Donate

We Appreciate Your Support

Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 1686605
  • Total Topics: 118111
  • Online Today: 626
  • Online Ever: 2235
  • (October 29, 2023, 12:32:45 AM)
Users Online

Recent

Author Topic: African Explorers' Books: Great Adventures Editions  (Read 3025 times)

Offline Plynkes

  • The Royal Bastard
  • Moderator
  • Elder God
  • Posts: 10212
  • I killed Mufasa!
    • http://misterplynkes.blogspot.com/
African Explorers' Books: Great Adventures Editions
« on: March 29, 2011, 09:56:48 PM »
One thing I'm always moaning about is modern editions of the 19th Century explorers' works. Buy a book these days by Carl Peters, Richard Burton, Sam Baker or the Thomson's Gazelle fellow (what was his name again?) and none of the cool drawings of them butchering the wildlife and local inhabitants, of gorgeous African vistas and African ladies with their puppies out, none of them will be in there. I suppose it's cheaper, and perhaps we also have some sort of silly modern idea that serious, grown-up books aren't supposed to have pretty pictures in them. Anyway, it makes me mad.

So imagine how happy I was today while idly browsing my local sleepy provincial book shop to find these:


"C5!" "You sank my protected cruiser!"
Top: Speke looking as cheerful as ever, while playing 'Battleships' with Grant.



Not only do they appear to have all the original black and white illustrations, they have colour plate sections of a whole bunch of stuff that was never in the originals. Modern-day photos of locations, Speke's hand-drawn maps (and his drawing of Mtesa's willy! lol), extra colour drawings and so on.

Even photos of Livingstone and Stanley's actual hats (what better colour reference could a Darkest Africa painter want?):


They come in a small but satisfyingly rigid and hefty hardback format, and the best thing is they only cost a Fiver each, about half what you'd normally pay in a bookshop for the paperback. They're from Italian publisher White Star's "The Great Adventures" series. Worth getting if you see them at the price I did, I reckon, if you are interested in this type of thing. Just wish they'd do this with all the other African explorers' works...
With Cat-Like Tread
Upon our prey we steal...

Offline Operator5

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 3344
  • The Silent Sentinel
    • Rattrap Productions LLC
Re: African Explorers' Books: Great Adventures Editions
« Reply #1 on: March 29, 2011, 10:28:05 PM »
Now I know what I will be looking for.
Richard A. Johnson
On Facebook: Rattrap on Facebook

Offline answer_is_42

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1637
  • Mostly Harmless.
Re: African Explorers' Books: Great Adventures Editions
« Reply #2 on: March 29, 2011, 10:33:35 PM »
Oh, very cool indeed. I'll be on the lookout. Hats are always a good thing.
Edit: Lots cheap on amazon. For example:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Found-Livingstone-Great-Adventurers/dp/885440120X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1301438125&sr=8-1
« Last Edit: March 29, 2011, 10:36:29 PM by answer_is_42 »
I told you so. You damned fools.
 - H.G. Wells

Offline Bugsda

  • Scatterbrained Genius
  • Posts: 3586
Re: African Explorers' Books: Great Adventures Editions
« Reply #3 on: March 29, 2011, 10:57:48 PM »
You lucky B'stard! I'll be off to Cornwall at easter and Falmouth has a plethora of old bookshps so maybe I will be too  :)

Cheers Bwana.  8)
Well I've lead an evil life, so they say, but I'll outrun the Devil on judgement day.

Offline Frank

  • LPL Champion (S5,S8) Bronze Medalist (S6)
  • Mad Scientist
  • Posts: 571
    • My TableTop Blog
Re: African Explorers' Books: Great Adventures Editions
« Reply #4 on: April 02, 2011, 05:55:29 AM »
Very interesting and a good recommendation. I love those kind of books...I think I have to order!

Offline Gluteus Maximus

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 5427
Re: African Explorers' Books: Great Adventures Editions
« Reply #5 on: April 02, 2011, 11:50:36 AM »
Yes, great finds. Stanley's helmet is spectacular  :o

Off to visit amazon  :D

Thanks for posting!

 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
10 Replies
3361 Views
Last post May 20, 2008, 08:28:53 AM
by Gluteus Maximus
1 Replies
1416 Views
Last post January 14, 2011, 06:33:24 PM
by Colonel Tubby
15 Replies
5154 Views
Last post November 08, 2011, 09:23:41 PM
by H.M.Stanley
17 Replies
3912 Views
Last post January 08, 2014, 05:56:55 PM
by War In 15MM
13 Replies
1713 Views
Last post June 13, 2022, 05:03:44 PM
by warwell