ANGAS, George French

Kafirs Illustrated, The

London: J. Hogarth, [1849]. Item #04947

"Of the three works, The Kaffirs Illustrated is the most uncommon" (Tooley).
With Thirty Beautiful Hand-Colored Plates

ANGAS, George French. The Kafirs Illustrated, in a Series of Drawings taken among the Amazulu, Amaponda, and Amakosa Tribes; also, Portraits of the Hottentot, Malay, Fingo, and other races inhabiting Southern Africa: Together with Sketches of Landscape Scenery in the Zulu Country, Natal, and the Cape Colony. London: G. Barclay for J. Hogarth, [1849].

First Edition. Large folio (19 9/16 x 14 1/8 inches; 497 x 359 mm.). [ii], [i]-viii, [9-52] pp. Lithographed frontispiece portrait on India proof paper mounted, lithographed title-page, lithographed dedication leaf, and thirty finely hand-colored lithographed plates drawn on stone by G.F. Angas, M. & N. Hanhart, B.W. Hawkins, A. Laby, J. Needham, and W. Wing, after Angas. Eleven wood-engraved illustrations in the text. Small closed tear repaired to margin of plate 17, not affecting illustration. Plate number 18 slightly toned and with very small chip to margin, again not affecting illustration. With a chapter entitled “General Remarks on the Races Inhabiting Southern Africa.”

Bound ca. 1849 by Bull & Son of Surbiton (stamp-signed in black on front free endpaper). Contemporary half black straight-grain morocco over green cloth boards ruled in gilt, front board with title printed in gilt, within decorative gilt border. Spine ruled and lettered in gilt. Expertly rebacked with original spine laid down. Some occasional very light foxing to a few plates. Small ex-library sticker on front pastedown.

First edition of this scarce and important nineteenth century survey of South Africa, including outstanding portraits, depicting the local ethnic groups such as the Khoikhoi (then referred to as Hottentots), Cape Malays and Zulus.
The plates also include superb views of Cape Town, Durban, Wynberg, Hottentot Holland, Genadendal, Paarl and Somerset West.

"The three large works by George French Angas, The Kaffirs Illustrated, The New Zealanders Illustrated and South Australia Illustrated, are amongst the most important of the illustrated travel books of their period... Of the three works, The Kaffirs Illustrated is the most uncommon" (Tooley).

According to OCLC there are just 15 copies of The Kafirs Illustrated in libraries and institutions worldwide compared to 38 copies of South Australia Illustrated and 42 copies of The New Zealanders Illustrated.

George French Angas (1822-1886), also known as G.F.A., was an English explorer, artist, naturalist, zoologist, painter and poet who emigrated to Australia. He studied anatomical drawing and lithography in London prior to traveling to New Zealand and Australia, and, for two years, in South Africa - resulting in the present work. His paintings are held in a number of important Australian public art collections. He was the eldest son of George Fife Angas, who was prominent in the early days of the colonization of South Australia. Angas painted some of the earliest views of South Australia. Arriving in Adelaide in January 1844, Following a trip to New Zealand he returned to South Australia in 1845 and traveled to Port Lincoln. In the following year he returned for a short while to England, accompanied by a young M ori man, Hemi Pomara, who was exhibited alongside Angas's paintings at the Egyptian Hall in London. Angas' next journey in 1846 was to South Africa, where he spent two years in Natal and the Cape, working on a series of drawings and watercolors which were published in 1849 as The Kafirs Illustrated.
Abbey, Travel, 339; Bobins I, 71; Colas 134; Mendelssohn I, pp. 45-46; Theal p.9; Tooley 60.

Price: $27,500.00