BRUCE, James (1730-94). Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile. Edinburgh: J. Ruthven, 1790. 5 volumes, 4° (297 x 232mm). 57 engraved plates and plans (?only, of 58), 3 folding engraved maps at the end of vol. V (occasional spotting and staining, a few small holes in the text). Contemporary diced calf (rebacked preserving substantial fragments of old spines). Provenance: Bishop of Columbia (armorial bookplate); E. R. Thorold, Johannesburg (bookseller's blindstamp to front blanks); Captain George Hill, 1811 (signature on title of vol. II). FIRST EDITION. Blackmer 221: "... this important work"; Brunet I, 1283; Hilmy I, 91; Lowndes I, 293; Nissen ZBI 617 (calling for 57 plates). "[Bruce] will always remain the poet, and his work the epic, of African travel" (DNB).