BURTHE D’ANNELET (Jules). Across French Africa: From Senegal to Cameroon via the Libyan Borderlands (Mauritania, French Sudan, Niger, Aïr, Kaouar, Djado, Tibesti, Borkou, Ennedi, Ouadaï, Sila, Baguirmu, Chad, Upper Oubangui) and to Morocco in 1935 via the Saharan borderlands (October 1932–June 1935). Paris: Firmin-Didot et Cie, [1939]. — 2 volumes in-4, 316 x 239: portrait, (4 ff. first blank), 743, X pp., (1 f. blank), 2 maps, illustrated cover; (2 ff.), pp. (745)–1549, (1 f.), 2 maps, 2 plates, illustrated cover. Gray Bradel-style cloth, covers lined with wood-grain paper, smooth spine, untrimmed, cover and spine preserved (modern binding). First edition of the account by Lieutenant Colonel Jules Burthe-d’Annelet (1870–1945), serving as a sequel and supplement to his first account entitled *À travers l’Afrique française. From Cameroon to Algiers (1932). At the time, the work made a major contribution to our understanding of French tropical Africa, which had long been the preserve of a select few. In it, the author recounts an epic journey (October 1932–June 1935) through little-known or poorly mapped regions, setting out from Senegal to traverse Mauritania, French Sudan, Upper Ivory Coast, the Niger Valley, the Aïr, the Kaouar, and then the Libyan borderlands (Tibesti, Borkou, Ennedi, Ouadaï, Sila, Baguirmi), before reaching Cameroon via Chad and Upper Oubangui. His precise itinerary, from Atar to Douala, complements and connects his previous journeys, enriching existing maps with topographic surveys (conducted at a scale of 1:500,000 using a compass and barometer), sketches of mountain ranges, panoramic profiles, and numerous photographs, for “in Africa, everything is an image.” The book is a collection of varied observations, combining geography, history, prehistory, ethnography, and the natural sciences. The narrative is based on daily travel journals, “hastily scribbled on his knee after long treks by jeep or on horseback, under the scorching sun or by moonlight.” The author transcribed them almost verbatim, without literary embellishments, to preserve their authenticity. His approach is that of an eyewitness account, free of generalizations, and driven by a desire for absolute sincerity. The edition is illustrated with a portrait of Burthe d’Annelet on the frontispiece, numerous black-and-white photographs within the text, many sketches, two plates, as well as several dozen maps, including four fold-out maps. A good copy in a modern binding. Covers are soiled and pitted. Spine has been restored.