Barth, Heinrich

written the day after Barth's intended departure on a British sponsored expedition into the interior of Africa, explaining the difficulties in procuring animals and guides which had occasioned the delay, and begging Crowe to send an official note to Mr Silver asking if he has any certain news of the caravan's arrival from Fezzan with camels, as "the most favourable season of the year is passing by"

Enys family ("The Enys Collection of Autograph Manuscripts", sale Bonhams, 28 September 2004, lot 192)

good condition
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A RARE LETTER BY HEINRICH BARTH, WRITTEN AS HE PREPARED TO LEAVE ON HIS FIVE-YEAR LONG EXPLORATION OF AFRICA.

Barth's expedition party, led by James Richardson and accompanied by Adolf Overweg, was intended to open up trade with sub-Saharan countries. They departed on 30 March 1850, nineteen days after this letter describing the delays they were faced with was written. During his travels he pioneered a new route across the Sahara and filled in many of the blank spaces on the map of northern Africa, visiting, among many other places, Lake Chad and Timbuktu (disguised as a Muslim, he was only the third modern European to do so). He returned to Tripoli in August 1855, by which time both his travelling companions had died and described his five year journey in Travels and Discoveries in North and Central Africa: being a Journal of an Expedition in the Years 1849-1855, pub. 1857-58 (see lot 30).

Manuscripts by Barth at auction are very rare, this being the only one recorded on ABPC.