one of the rarest burtons
BURTON, Sir Richard F. The Guide-Book. A Pictorial Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. (Including Some of the More Remarkable Incidents in the Life of Mohammed, the Arab Lawgiver.) London, Printed for the Author by William Clowes & Sons, 1865.
8vo. Original green printed wrappers; pp. 58; wood-engraved portrait frontispiece of Burton; slight chipping to spine, minor dust-soiling, else a very good copy of this extremely scarce item, now housed in a purpose-made cloth box.
First edition, exceedingly rare, of Sir Richard Burton's guide book to Mecca.
The Guide-Book. A Pictorial Pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina was printed to accompany an exhibition of paintings at the Royal Polytechnic Institution to illustrate his Pilgrimage to Mecca..... The exhibition consisted of a 'Pictorial Representation' of his pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, showcasing 'dissolving views' painted mostly from his original drawings. The text corrects errors he made in the 1855-56 account of his daring voyage, and describes the main rites connected with the Hajj, and the life, death and burial of Mohammed. - The pamphlet was presumably printed in small quantities and even in Penzer's opinion (Burton's bibliographer, writing in 1923) it is 'exceedingly rare'.
Penzer pp.76-7; Casada 39; OCLC records only six copies. The last copy to appear at auction was sold in 2012 ago for £11.200.
#2104984