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Octavo to Small Octavo, from ca. 20,5x16 cm (8 x 6 ¼ in) to ca. 20x12,5 cm (7 ¾ x 4 ¾ in). Brown ink on laid, wove or squared paper. 3,5, 3, 4, 4, 4, 3, 6, 4, 2,5 = in 34 pp. of text. All signed by Gordon. Gordon's manuscripts: two Octavo leaves, both ca. 20,5x13 cm (8x5 in); brown ink on squared paper; in both 3 pp. of text. One manuscript signed by Gordon and dated "28 Oct. 1878." Wrottesley's ALS: 24 November 1882. 12mo (ca. 17,5x11 cm or 7 x 4 ¼ in). Two wove paper bifoliums; text in brown ink; blind-stamped addresses "85, Warwick Road, South Kensington S.W." on top of the first leaf of each bifolium. Fold marks, paper of several letters slightly age-toned, occasional minor tears on extremities, but overall a very good collection. Historically significant archive of nine original content-rich letters, written by the famous Governor-General of the Sudan, Charles Gordon, during his first term in office (May 1877-December 1879), addressed to his friend Colonel Sir Charles Nugent (1827-1899) and former subordinate, Lt. Charles Watson (1844-1916). "In 1873 the khedive Ismail Pasha of Egypt, who regularly employed Europeans, appointed Gordon governor of the province of Equatoria in the Sudan. In Equatoria, from April 1874 to December 1876, Gordon mapped the upper Nile River and established a line of stations along the river as far south as present-day Uganda. After a brief stay in England, he resumed service under the khedive as governor-general of the Sudan. Gordon established his ascendancy over this vast area, crushing rebellions and suppressing the slave trade. Ill health forced him to resign and return to England in 1880" ( Encyclopedia Britannica ). The earliest letter written by Gordon in Massawa (then a part of the Egyptian Sudan) focuses on Sudan's relations with the Ethiopian Empire in the aftermath of the Egyptian-Ethiopian War (1874-1876). Gordon talks about "Johannes" (Yohannes IV, Emperor of Ethiopia in 1871-89), "Walad Michael" (likely, Mikael of Wollo, 1850-1918, a high-ranking Ethiopian nobleman), Emperor's "General Ras Bariou" and the Egyptian Khedive's ("H.H.") rumoured intentions to apply "for British Protection & a Resident, and with that protection will try to gain Mecca & Medina & be the Head of the Faith." In another letter from Massawa, written in December 1879, Gordon describes his recent embassy to Yohannes IV to prevent a possible war between Egypt and Ethiopia. Characterizing the Emperor in distinctively negative terms, Gordon complains of being kept "a semi prisoner <?> and every disagreeable you can imagine. No tobacco or drink <?> The King will listen to no one, he cuts off the nose of those who [??] & the lips of those who smoke, <?> A nasty sullen [??] of 47, he never smiles or looks you in the face." Five letters written from Khartoum in 1878 refer to Gordon's attempts to manage Sudan's finances and the region treasury's ongoing deficit, Gordon's conflict with Charles River Wilson (1831-1916, then a member of the commission to access the finances of Egypt); a telegram to Gordon from the khedive's new Prime Minister, Nubar Pasha; blockage of the upper Nile River with the "sudd" vegetation; Gordon suffering from "the plague of Egypt, Boils, a thing I never had in China or before in this country," his thoughts of resignation; the ongoing rebellion by the slave traders in the Darfur region; money owed to Charles Appleby for the construction of the Sudan Railway, &c. One of the letters, addressed to Gordon's former subordinate, Lt. Charles Wilson (participated in the survey of the Equatoria Province in 1874, took part in the Anglo-Egyptian War of 1882, served in the Egyptian Army and as Governor-General of the Red Sea Littoral of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, was member of the Royal Geographical Society since 1875), is supplemented with two original Gordon's manuscripts accounting the revenue, expenses and debt of Sudan in 1878. Very interesting is the letter written from "Edowa, Darf.
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