“THE EUROPEAN HAS NEITHER THE WISH NOR THE POWER TO CONSTITUTE A WHITE PROLETARIAT IN COUNTRIES LIKE EAST AFRICA”: FIRST EDITION OF CHURCHILL’S MY AFRICAN JOURNEY, 1908, IN ORIGINAL CLOTH
CHURCHILL, Winston. My African Journey. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1908. Octavo, original pictorial red cloth, uncut.
First edition of this early Churchill travelogue, with three color-outlined maps (one folding, two full page), photographic frontispiece, and over 60 illustrations, many from photographs taken by Churchill, in bright original cloth.
As undersecretary of State for the Colonies in 1907, Churchill traveled to Africa on a tour of inspection. He "saw the advantages of producing a travelogue on Britain's valuable possessions in East Africa. Among these, Churchill waxes most eloquent on Uganda, which he calls 'a pearl" (Langworth, 80). My African Journey "includes photographs allegedly taken by Churchill, the only such appearance in the canon; the text is important because it shows Churchill raising prescient questions involving the betterment of the East African population" (Langworth, 80). With 16-page publisher's catalog at rear. Bibliographers report no "known" dust jacket (Cohen A27.1). Cohen A27.1. Woods A12. Langworth, 80-83. Ex-library Fraser Institute Free Public Library of Montreal, with bookplate, paper shelf label affixed to spine, and embossed blind stamp on page 9.
Closed tear along gutter to plate opposite page 178, not affecting images; rear inner paper hinge cracking, binding quite sound. Text and plates clean, original cloth cleaner and brighter than often seen. An extremely good copy.