“THE EUROPEAN HAS NEITHER THE WISH NOR THE POWER TO CONSTITUTE A WHITE PROLETARIAT IN COUNTRIES LIKE EAST AFRICA”: CHURCHILL’S MY AFRICAN JOURNEY, 1908

CHURCHILL, Winston. My African Journey. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1908. Octavo, modern full navy morocco, raised bands, spine decorated with gilt Churchill lion emblems, top edge gilt. $2000.

First edition of this early Churchill travelogue, with three full-page maps and over 60 photographs, many taken by Churchill, with original cloth front panel bound in at rear, handsomely bound.

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'… [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 catalogue bound at rear. Cohen A27.1. Woods A12. Langworth, 80-83.

Fine condition.