The Albert N’yanza, great basin of the Nile, and explorations of the Nile sources

London: Macmillan and Co, 1866. Two volumes. First edition. Illustrated with two maps, one of which is a large fold-out, portrait frontispiece, 14 fine plates, and 23 illustrations within the text. 8vo, original green cloth gilt lettered and decorated on spines, with gilt-decorated pictorial upper covers ruled in gilt. xxx, 395; xi, 384 pp. First edition of one of history’s greatest travel accounts. Baker, an established explorer in the Black Sea region, went to Africa to discover the sources of the Nile River. Along the way he met up with fellow adventurers John Speke and James Grant, who gave him valuable information that led him to Lake Albert. He was the first European to visit and gave the lake its name. This narrative recounts in lurid detail his encounters with natives, hunting expeditions, judgments of tribal customs, and liaisons with slave traders. Most of his travel companions abandoned him along the way due to the brutal nature of the journey and his harsh treatment of them, so he was forced to rely on locals for direction and advice.

Baker (1821-1893) was awarded the gold medal by the Royal Geographic Society in praise of this expedition. Although he dedicated this work to the Queen and named Lake Albert after her late husband, Victoria refused to meet him in person because he lived unmarried with a former white slave girl he stole from a market in Bulgaria.