[GEOFFROY DE VILLENEUVE (René Claude)]. - Lot 51

[GEOFFROY DE VILLENEUVE (René Claude)]. Africa, or the History, Manners, Practices, and Customs of the Africans. Senegal. Paris: Nepveu, 1814. — 4 volumes in-18, 133 x 79: frontispiece, viij, iv, 171 pp., 25 pp., pp. (173)-174, 6 plates; (2 ff.), 176, ij pp., 1 map, 9 plates; map, (2 ff.), 222 pp. incorrectly numbered 22, 9 plates; (2 ff.), 218 pp., 19 plates. Dark blue long-grain morocco, cold-stamped border on the covers, gilt dots at the corners, smooth spine decorated with cold-stamped fillets, gilt interior roll, gilt edges (contemporary binding). A sought-after first edition of this account of Senegal. Geoffroy de Villeneuve draws on his firsthand experience of the continent. After two trips to Africa (1785–1788) alongside the Chevalier de Boufflers, then governor of Senegal, and a two-year stay in Senegal and Gorée—where he learned Wolof— he explored the interior among the local princes, on orders from the French government. These firsthand observations, supplemented by research into the writings of other travelers and verified with the colony’s leaders, enabled him to paint a precise and authentic picture of the region. As the author notes in his preface, the publication of this book took on special significance following the 1814 peace treaty, which returned Senegal to France (from Cestadin to Cap Blanc, as far as the Sierra Leone River), heightening the French public’s interest in this history. The edition is illustrated with two maps and 44 plates, most of them in color, engraved from authentic drawings (most of which were executed on site). A fine copy in period morocco leather, from the library of Lord Northwick. Some normal wear and scuffing on the bindings. Scattered foxing; creases on a few leaves. Provenance: Lord Northwick, with bookplate.