Sketches of the medical topography and native diseases of the Gulf of Guinea western Africa. Watercolor sketch by Daniell laid in.
Publisher Information: London: Samuel Highley, 1849.
Daniell, William F. (1818-65). Sketches of the medical topography and native diseases of the Gulf of Guinea western Africa. viii, 200pp. London: Samuel Highley, 1849. 213 x 135 mm. Half calf, marbled boards ca. 1849, a bit rubbed, hinges tender. Presentation Copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title: “To my friend T[illegible] Stone—with the best wishes and kind regards of the author.” Stone’s signature on the verso title; stamp reading “Presented by the Author” on the table of contents page, with Daniell’s and Stone’s names added in ink. With:
Daniell. Original watercolor sketch showing the Gabon River, dated 21.1.65 (21 January 1865) on the verso in pencil. 185 x 110 mm. Minor dampstaining in the right margin, a few small spots.
Together two items. Very good.
First Edition. Daniell, a British army surgeon and botanist, was stationed for nine years in West Africa, where he took advantage of the opportunity to study the region’s diseases and potentially useful plants. He corresponded with Darwin and Joseph Hooker during his stay in West Africa and sent numerous botanical specimens to the British Museum and Pharmaceutical Society; several plants, including the natural sweetener Thaumatococcus daniellii (Katemfe plant) and the genus Daniellia in the Fabaceae (legume) family, are named for him. Daniell’s Sketches, his only published book, is one of the first English topographical studies of the Gulf of Guinea; he was apparently prompted to write it by the lack of any useful information in English about West Africa (Nickalls, p. 30).
Daniell was also an accomplished artist, as can be seen in his watercolor sketch of the Gabon River. The verso of the watercolor is inscribed in pencil: “Gaboon River / Dr. Daniell / 21.1.65.” Nickalls, “William Freeman Daniell (1817-1865),” http://www.nickalls.org/dick/papers/daniell/DaniellwfBook.pdf.
Book Id: 52395Price: $2,000.00