Observations on the Geology and Zoology of Abyssinia: Made During the Progress of the British Expedition to That Country in 1867-68.

BLANFORD, W.T.

$750.00

Item Number: 145447

London: Macmillan and Co, 1870.

First edition of this work dedicated to the geology and zoology of Northern Abyssinia. Octavo, bound in half morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, illustrated with a folding color frontispiece of the view of Amba, or Hill-Fort of Duga and the neighboring mountains taken from the British camping-grounds as Belago, several illustrations and diagrams of the animals and landscapes of Abyssinia in black and white and in color by John Gerrard Keulmans and others, and a color lithographed folding map of the region with another folding map laid in. In near fine condition with some toning half-title page and frontispiece.

William Thomas Blanford, known primarily for his geological work in India, travelled through Abyssinia, the results of which were published in the 1870 'Observation on the Geology and Zoology of Abyssinia.' This work is divided into three parts: the first section records Blanford's journey through Abyssinia; the second is devoted to Abyssinian geological formations, rock types, and stratigraphy, complete with an appendix describing new species of fossils discovered in the Antalo limestone; and the third concerns Abyssinian zoology, cataloging the distribution, taxonomy, and ecology of several hundred animals in the region. The six new bird species discovered by Blanford are depicted in beautiful hand-coloured lithographs by Dutch avian illustrator John Gerrard Keulemans, while the map is by Stanford's Geological Establishment, London.