1670
First German edition

Olfert Dapper (1636-1689)

The 1670 first German edition of Olfert Dapper’s Description of Africa (Umbständliche und eigentliche Beschreibung von Africa) is a foundational 17th-century ethnographic work, published in Amsterdam. It is a comprehensive, illustrated volume detailing African regions, cultures, and geography based on European travel reports, primarily featuring detailed maps and copperplate engravings.

Dapper was a Dutch physician and writer. Despite never traveling outside of the Netherlands, he wrote extensively on world history and geography. Dapper spoke many languages and often produced translations of his work. Best known for his maps of Africa and its surrounding islands and territories, Dapper used the travel reports of missionaries to inform his work.

This work is crucial for understanding 17th-century European perceptions of Africa, including descriptions of the slave trade and the activities of Dutch, English, and Portuguese colonial forces.

R80,000