THE KALAHARI AND ITS LOST CITY - 1967. First Edition.

A. J. Clement

Description:

Book Description: xvi, 214pp. Hard Cover with DJ. Foreword by Phillip V. Tobias [Chairman, Kalahari Research Committee], profusely illustrated with maps, plates, photographs, drawngs, sketches, facsimiles, charts and tables.

Book Condition: Bottom right hand corner of front cover slightly bumped. Otherwise very good throughout. Dust Jacket Condition: Worn and torn on edges. A cirlcular disc of ink has been lifted off the spine, presumably from the removal of a price sticker. Otherwise fair. Price on IFC flap is unlipped.

APPENDICES:

A: the travel schedule of the Farini Expedition;

B: the passenger lists of the Roslin Castle and Drummond Castle;

C: extract from The Cape Argus of 22 July 1885 (Farini's press interview);

D: extract from The Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of 8 March 1886 (Farini's lecture);

E: "Farini's African Pygmies or Dwarf Earthmen" - pamphlets advertising the exhibit held at the Royal Westminster Aquarium, London, 1884;

F: copy of Pritchard's in the Late Mr. F. R. Paver's Papers - map key drawn by D. D. Pritchard for Captain Leslie;

G: list of the Farini photographs (with inscriptions) in the late Mr. F. R. Paver's collection;

H: further biographical notes on Farini and his associates in the Late Mr. F. R. Paver's Papers;

I: lost city expeditions; Bibliography and List of Maps referred to in text;

The American showman Gilarmi A. Farini (whose real name was William Leonard Hunt) sparked off a controversial mystery of the Lost City of the Kalahari. In his account of the expedition, which he made to the Kalahari Desert in 1885, has tantalized many people for well over a hundred years. His book, Through the Kalahari Desert, published in 1886, and the lecture which he gave to members of the Royal Geographic Society described, among other things, his discovery of the ruins of a city built of stone, almost covered by the sands of the Kalahari. The story was forgotten until the early 1920s, and from that time onwards over twenty fully equipped expeditions (which have added considerably to our knowledge of the western Kalahari) and innumerable private individuals have sought Farini's ruins without success. Some authorities felt that Farini's discovery of the Lost City was fraudulent, but claims accumulated from different people who said that they had found the ruins -- in places many hundreds of miles apart. Formal expeditions and private parties continued the hunt, using camels, jeeps and light aircraft, but the riddle was not solved. It remained for Dr. Clement and his party to provide the solution to the mystery which had intrigued popular imagination for so many years. The author has done an immense amount of research into the many documents relating to Farini's journey (including such things as consulting newspapers, the passenger lists of ships and railway timetables), the probable daily journeys of ox-wagons going through sand, and consideration of directions and bearings given by Farini. As a result of his meticulous research Dr. Clement was able to pinpoint the probable location of the ruins, and his calculations proved to be correct. This book is not only an exciting account of Farini's original trip, but provides fascinating details of Kalahari's exploration from the early part of the nineteenth century. The author is a founder-member, with Professor P. V. Tobias, of the Kalahari Research Committee of the University of the Witwatersrand. He is also a member of the Institute of Man and the South African Archaeological Society.

Details:

  • Publisher: Longmans Southern Africa Limited
  • Publisher Place: Vrystaat Rd, Paarden Eiland, Cape Town
  • Date of Publication: 1967
  • Edition: 1st
  • Jacket Condition: Fair
  • Binding Condition: Very good
  • Overall Condition: Good
  • Lot No: 312
  • Hammer Price: $60
  • Bids: 1
  • Visits: 73
  • Estimate: $120
  • Reserve: $60

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