Balessan [Balessan, Balm, or Balsam].

[BRUCE, James & HEATH, James (engraver)].

Published by LondonPublished by G. Robinson and Co. December 1st ., 1789

About this Item

Original copper-engraving (30 x 24 cm) on laid paper from Bruce's Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile (1790), "One of the great travel accounts of the eighteenth century" (DNB). In 1763, Bruce took on a post as British consul in Algiers, whence he travelled to Tunis, Tripoli, Cyprus, Crete and the Levant. While he was there he devoted himself to the study of the ancient remains in North Africa and the Middle East. In 1768, he embarked in an expedition to discover the source of the Nile, travelling from Alexandria, through the Red Sea, to Ethiopia, where he thought it was located. Though the source had already been described by Jesuits in the 17th century, Bruce was the first European to witness where the two main tributaries, the Blue Nile and the White Nile, meet. Bruce made a great impression during his visit to the Court of Negus in Gondar in Ethiopia, not least because of his large physique on account of which the locals are said to have felt great sympathy for the horse he rode. This account of his travels was not well received by a sceptical audience back home and he retired to his estate in Scotland where he died. The first four volumes of Bruce's account narrate his adventures in the years 1768 - 1773 and it was some of these stories, which he famously recounted in an interview with James Boswell upon his return, were not believed in Britain. The fifth volume, with its separate title, 'Select Specimens of Natural History', includes 43 handsome full-page engravings (each with its separate imprint) of the plants and animals he saw during his travels, including papyrus, the Binny fish and birds like the Abou Hannes. Seller Inventory # 62281

Bibliographic Details

Title: Balessan [Balessan, Balm, or Balsam].

Publisher: LondonPublished by G. Robinson and Co. December 1st .

Publication Date: 1789