Captain Tuckey (7 results)

Condition: New. 2006 reprint by Rediscovery Books (original 1818). SB.lxxxiii + 498pp with 1 chart & 13 plates b&w + 1 in colour.Published Price £22 This handsome book is a feast for all students of the fascinating subject of 19th century African exploration. Its author, Captain James Kingston Tuckey led an official British expedition to explore the great Congo (Zaire) river in 1816. Voyaging in his specially designed ship âCongoâ, together with its supply vessel the âDorothyâ Tuckey travelled deep into the âheart of darknessâ that was unexplored central Africa, until a combination of impassable cataracts and fever in him and his crew forced him to turn back. He died soon afterwards from hepatitis and general exhaustion. This book is composed of Tuckeyâs expedition journal, together with notes on the people they encountered and on the flora and fauna of the regions they traversed made by Professor Smith, the expeditionâs scientific advisor. The notes include observations on tribal customs, the slave trade, and a vocabulary of the languages of the Malemba and Embomma tribes. The book is illustrated by drawings, woodcuts and engraved plates.

Hardback. Condition: VG-. Dust Jacket Condition: No DW. 1st Edition. . Fldg. eng. chart & 13 eng. plates & illus., as called for. (The plates with the ornate & not unattractive stamp of Birmingham Library), one plate hand col.Quarto. Brown library cloth. Ex lib., 1818. Book is in very good minus condition with minor but noticeable signs of wear and/or age. SPECIAL POSTAGE RATES MAY APPLY Packed weight 1900g.

Hardback. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: No DW. 1st Edition. Fldg. eng. chart & 13 eng. plates & illus., as called for. Very noticeable browning/spotting etc mostly to plates and adjoining leaves. Circular stamp of "Bruxelles Centre d'information et de documentation du Congo Belge et du Ruanda-Urundi" (complelely faded in part) top right of title page (with shelf number) and their stamp on rear endpaper but no other library marks. Bound in original grey paper covered boards with (very worn) original paper title label on spine, Just a good reading copy, SPECIAL POSTAGE RATES APPLY (GB 2024 £8) Packed weight 2200g.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good+. First Edition. Octavo, pp. Lxxxi, 410. Twelve illustrations in the text, 1 large fold-out map, appendix. Bound in modern half-leather with green marbled paper covered boards. Gold spine titles to leather spine. Binding is bright with minor wear. Some offsetting in the text. Large folding map has a 4 inch tear repaired with tape. Captian Tuckey was sent to explore the Congo River, on a ship named Congo, in 1816. At the time, very little was known about the Congo and some European geographers believed there was a connection between the Congo and the Niger. Tuckey did not get very far. He sailed up the Congo from its mouth on the Atlantic, but soon realized the lower river is not navigable due to cataracts (later named the Yellala Falls). Tuckey explored the river up to Isangila finding ruins of the Portuguese colony and Catholic missions. Tuckey and most of his officers and crew died of fever. What success they had was mostly negative - the lower Congo was definitely not navigable, and the fever and sickness threat was formidable. The survivors did bring back a substantial number of botany specimens. Both Tuckey and Professor Chetien Smith (mission botanist) wrote journals during their explorations. This book contains both journals and a lengthy introduction about the mission. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 410 pages.

Full leather. Condition: Very good. First edition of Narrative of an Expedition to Explore the River Zaire. under the Direction of of Captain J.K. Tuckey. (illustrator). First Edition. Quarto, lxxxii, 498pp. Full morocco, rebacked with original spine laid down over new cloth, decorative border stamped in blind within a double gilt-ruled border on front and rear covers. Title in gilt over black, five bands with decorative gilt compartments. All edges marbled, marbled endpapers. Bound by M. Bell Richmond. No additional printings listed on copyright page. Solid text block, light foxing to plates, faint wear to edges and corners, some flaking of gilt on spine, hinges reinforced. Previous ownership bookplate on front pastedown endpaper. Complete with one fold-out map with light transference and solid hinges affixed opposite title page, as well as 13 full-page plates, including a hand-colored squid diagram. (Hosken 203). Commander James Hingston [Kingston] Tuckey sailed with the Royal Navy and explored various parts of Africa during his career. Aboard the schooner Congo in 1816, Tuckey searched for a connection between the Congo and Niger Rivers of western and central Africa. The crew was unsuccessful, struggling to navigate rapids and eventually dying of fever. Although the expedition failed, it did raise international interest in exploring Africa.

4to. Pp. (viii), lxxxii, 402, 401-498, (2). With one folding map and thirteen engraved plates, of which one is coloured by hand. Uncut copy in original boards, rebacked with original title label preserved. Map and plates somewhat browned but overall a crisp and clean copy. First edition of the official account of the first scientific expedition to the Congo River to find out if there was a connection with the Niger. The expedition was exposed to fatal problems and Captain Tuckey and several others of the crew died within three months of entering the river. Professor Christen Smith from Kew Gardens was one of the naturalists on the voyage. His journal is here included. The extensive introduction is written by John Barrow, who as second secretary to the Admiralty had organised the expedition. "A relatively important scientific travelogue, W.E. Leach having described a new species of Rafinesque's Ocythoë. J. Cranach gave an account of the collected animals at a whole, including 36 bird species" Wood p. 603. Stafleu 15287.Provenance: From the library of the radical reformer Francis Place (1771-1854) with his bookplate. Three related manuscripts tipped onto guards. The first two (comprising four large our four smaller pages) are apparently in the hand of Francis Place, supplying a digest of the contents of the work, and noting observations taken down from the mouth of Mr. Bevans, a young sailor who accompanied Captain Tuckey. The third manuscript (pp. 4) seems to be in Mr. Bevans' hand containing further critical comments on this work.

First edition. Illustrated with the large folding map and 13 engraved plates, of which one is coloured by hand. Large 4to, later antique wine coloured cloth, gilt lettering to the spine, t.e.g. 4ff., lxxxii, 498 pp. A large copy, quite clean and well preserved, crisp and unpressed, the colour plate in good order, some typical mellowing or spotting associated usually with the plates, upper cover detached and easily refurbished. SCARCE FIRST EDITION. An attempt to explore the Congo River and to find a link with the Niger and investigate the possibilities for trade on these arteries. Smith from Kew Gardens and other botanists were along to collect plant seeds. Tuckey died on the support ship. "Tuckey was one of the most observant of travelers. He had served in the Eastern Seas, and made a voyage to Brazil and Port Philip in 1803. Captured on his return voyage, he like Flinders, was detained as a prisoner by the French for several years. He subsequently compiled a valuable work on 'Maritime Geography' before setting on the government expedition to explore the Congo, then by many conjectured to be the outlet of the Niger. The results of this expedition were most disastrous, Captain Tuckey and many others dying within three months after entering the river". "An introductory view of African discovery preceeds the narrative of Tuckey and Smith and a series of appendices follow: these include (1) a vocabulary of the Malemba and Embonma languages by Cat. Tuckey. (2) Observations on the Genus Ocythioe of Rafinesque by Dr. Leach. (3) On Sepia and Vermes Testacea with plates. (4) Observations on Prof. Smith's collection of plants by Robert Brown, etc.".