May 16th Rare Autograph Auction
David Livingstone ALS, 3 pages, Birkenhead, March 6, 1858. "As I am not very well from some of the effects of old African fevers I am obliged to decline...I did not know when you called that I had the honour to be introduced to a relative of Mrs. Duncan whose books I have read with much interest..." After recently returning from Zambesi, Livingstone was hailed and courted as a hero. Unfortunately, he declined many invitations because of "African fevers". Bold ink with legible writing. Traces of mounting on the verso of the final page. 7.25" x 9". In fine condition. From the Dr. John K. Lattimer Collection.
David Livingstone (19 March 1813 – 1 May 1873) came to have a mythic status that operated on several interconnected levels: Protestant missionary martyr, working-class "rags-to-riches" inspirational story, scientific investigator and explorer, imperial reformer, anti-slavery crusader, and advocate of British commercial and colonial expansion. His fame would give him the influence to end the East African Arab–Swahili slave trade. His subsequent exploration of the central African watershed was the culmination of the classic period of European geographical discovery and colonial penetration of Africa.
With One of a Kind Collectibles LOA. With full JSA LOA.
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