Details
KOLBEN, Peter. The Present State of the Cape of Good-Hope...done into English from the original by Mr. Medley, London: for G. Innys and G. Smith, 1731. 2 volumes, 8° (197 x 120mm.), one engraved frontispiece only (of 2), 29 engraved plates and maps, 3 folding, with a duplicate copy of the portrait frontispiece (browned, some old dampstaining, inner hinge reinforced between frontispiece and title of vol. I), 19th-century cloth. Provenance: Sir George Yonge, 1731-1812, Governor of the Cape of Good Hope, signature and extensive marginal annotations in volume I.
AN IMPORTANT ASSOCIATION COPY. 31 pages in volume I contain ink or pencil notes and comments by Yonge, ending (on Z7v) with "This author appears to have been diligent & faithful enough to the best of his ability but he seems to have been an inferior person ... with no superior judgement tho' well intentioned". The original, in German, was published in Nuremberg in 1719. Although Guido Medley regards the present translation as 'an abridgement', it includes many details of Kolben's residence in Cape Colony between June 1705 and April 1713, as well as an account of the government of the country, descriptions of the various settlements, and information about the indigenous peoples. The natural history section was seen at the time as being particularly valuable, and apparently includes the earliest list of South African animals. Mendelssohn I, p. 844. Sold as an association copy, not subject to return. (2)
AN IMPORTANT ASSOCIATION COPY. 31 pages in volume I contain ink or pencil notes and comments by Yonge, ending (on Z7
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