BURTON, Richard Francis (1821–1890)
Personal Narrative of a Pilgrimage to El Medinah and Meccah
Place: London
Year: 1857
Edition: Second edition. Two volumes bound in one. The first edition appeared in three volumes in 1855–56; this second edition was revised and issued in two volumes in 1857.
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Second edition of Richard Francis Burton’s celebrated account of his 1853 pilgrimage to Medina and Mecca, undertaken while travelling in disguise as a Muslim pilgrim.
Burton journeyed through Egypt and across the Red Sea before travelling through the Hejaz to Medina and onward to Mecca, where he participated in the rites of the Hajj. His command of languages and familiarity with Islamic customs enabled him to travel in circumstances in which access to the holy cities was highly restricted to non-Muslims. The resulting narrative combines personal observation, ethnographic description, topography, religious practice and extensive notes on Arabian society.
The work established Burton’s reputation as one of the foremost nineteenth-century British explorers and travel writers. His account was especially valued for its detailed observations of Medina and Mecca, including descriptions and plans of religious sites and the pilgrimage ceremonies. The Library of Congress describes the work as a particularly accurate and well-documented account of the Hajj and the holy cities.
This 1857 second edition condenses the original three-volume first edition of 1855–56 into two volumes and incorporates alterations and additional material. Penzer records this edition separately and notes that copies were also supplied unbound to booksellers for issue in alternative bindings.
Collation: Two volumes bound in one, 8vo. Vol. I: xiv, [2], 418 pp.; Vol. II: iv, [2], 422 pp. Complete with all plates, maps and plans as issued.
Description: Complete with 14 lithographic plates, comprising 2 chromolithographic frontispieces, 3 additional chromolithographs, 8 tinted lithograph plates and 1 plain lithograph plate, together with 4 maps and plans, 3 of which are folding. The colour plates include Burton’s representations of The Pilgrim, An Arab Shaykh in his Travelling Dress, The Pilgrim’s Costume and The Pretty Bedouin Girl, while the maps and plans document Burton’s route and important sites at Medina and Mecca.
Binding: Contemporary purple pebble-grain cloth, boards elaborately blind-stamped with ornamental borders and arabesque decoration, the upper board with a gilt desert vignette of palms, figures and camels; spine similarly decorated and lettered in gilt with a related pictorial vignette at foot. All edges gilt. Both volumes bound together in a single volume.
Condition: Binding considerably faded and rubbed, particularly to the spine, with loss of gilt and surface colour, scattered spotting, abrasion and general handling wear. Board edges and corners rubbed and somewhat frayed, with minor exposure at extremities. Gilt pictorial device to the upper board remains clearly visible, though dulled with age. Text block firm overall. All edges gilt, with some darkening and scratching. Internally generally well preserved, with moderate age-toning and scattered foxing, heavier to some preliminary leaves, title pages and plate margins. Chromolithographic and tinted lithographic plates retain good colour and definition, with occasional spotting and minor offsetting. Complete with all plates, maps and plans as issued.
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