NARRATIVE OF AN EXPEDITION TO EXPLORE THE RIVER ZAIRE, USUALLY CALLED THE CONGO, IN 1816

This handsome book is a feast for all students of the fascinating subject of 19th century African exploration. Its author, Captain James Kingston Tuckey led an official British expedition to explore the great Congo (Zaire) river in 1816. Voyaging in his specially designed ship ‘Congo’, together with its supply vessel the ‘Dorothy’ Tuckey travelled deep into the ‘heart of darkness’ that was unexplored central Africa, until a combination of impassable cataracts and fever in him and his crew forced him to turn back. He died soon afterwards from hepatitis and general exhaustion. This book is composed of Tuckey’s expedition journal, together with notes on the people they encountered and on the flora and fauna of the regions they traversed made by Professor Smith, the expedition’s scientific advisor. The notes include observations on tribal customs, the slave trade, and a vocabulary of the languages of the Malemba and Embomma tribes. The book is illustrated by drawings, woodcuts and engraved plates.