Der Kilima-Ndjaro (The Kilimanjaro Expedition) Harry Hamilton Johnston 1886

This is the 1886 authorized German edition (Autorisirte Deutsche Ausgabe) of Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston's seminal travelogue, "Der Kilima-Ndjaro" (The Kilimanjaro Expedition), published in Leipzig by the prominent firm F. A. Brockhaus and translated from English by Wilhelm von Freeden.

This specific edition holds significant historical value, tied directly to the "Scramble for Africa" and the shifting geopolitical landscapes of the late 19th century:

A High-Stakes Geopolitical Tool

While Johnston’s 1884 expedition to Mount Kilimanjaro was funded by British scientific bodies (the British Association for the Advancement of Science and the Royal Society) ostensibly to study the region's flora, fauna, and anthropology, it carried an immense political undercurrent.

During his stay, Johnston concluded treaties with local Chagga chiefs, notably Mandara of Moshi. He hoisted the British flag, effectively attempting to secure the Kilimanjaro region for the British Empire. This German translation, rushed to print by Brockhaus in 1886, hit the shelves the exact same year the British and German empires signed a crucial delimitation treaty. In that agreement, Britain relinquished its claims to the Kilimanjaro territory, ceding it to the German sphere of influence (which became German East Africa).

The Multi-Talented Author

Harry Hamilton Johnston (later Sir Harry Johnston) was one of the most versatile and influential African explorers of the Victorian era. Aside from being an explorer and a colonial administrator, he was a trained artist and a linguist. As noted on the title page ("über 80 Abbildungen"), the extensive illustrations throughout this volume were produced from Johnston's own highly detailed sketches and paintings, offering Europe some of its first accurate visual records of the region's biodiversity. His linguistic studies in the back of this book laid some of the groundwork for modern Bantu comparative linguistics.

A Distinguished Translator

The translator noted on the page, W. von Freeden (Wilhelm von Freeden), was an important historical figure in his own right. He was a German mathematician, scientist, and the founder of the Norddeutsche Seewarte (North German Naval Observatory), which revolutionized marine meteorology and hydrography in Germany. His choice to translate Johnston’s work underscores how vital Johnston's geographical and meteorological observations of Africa's highest peak were to the German scientific community at the dawn of their colonial expansion.

155mm x 225mm x 35mm

Minor wear; some pencil underlining. Complete.

R5,000