The White Nile by Alan Moorehead (FIRST EDITION), 1960 🐘🌍📜

This is a rare First Edition, First Printing of The White Nile by Alan Moorehead, a canonical work of modern historical non-fiction.

The volume is classified as a top-shelf documentary artifact, appealing to collectors of exploration history and 20th-century geopolitical narratives.

Its value is secured by its verifiable First Printing status in 1960 and the detailed account of the European search for the source of the Nile River.

2. About the Artwork/Book/Object 📖✍️✨ The White Nile is an authoritative historical account covering the European exploration of the White Nile and Central Africa between 1856 and 1900. The book details the compelling narratives of figures such as Speke, Burton, Livingstone, and Stanley, chronicling their discoveries and the subsequent scramble for African territories.

The volume is divided into three parts: "The Exploration," "The Exploitation," and "The Moslem Revolt," addressing not only the geographic discoveries but also the profound political and social consequences of colonial expansion. The interior includes historical maps (including one taken from Ptolemy's map of the world, c. A.D. 150) and collages of key explorers and historical figures.

3. About the Artist/Author/Maker ✍️🏛️ Alan Moorehead (1910–1983) was a highly respected Australian war correspondent, journalist, and historian. His non-fiction works, which often covered large sweep historical and geographical topics, were celebrated for their clarity, narrative quality, and meticulous research.

Moorehead gained international recognition for his work, and his books are considered essential contributions to modern historical literature. His writing transformed complex historical events into accessible, compelling narratives. The publisher, Harper & Brothers, is one of America's oldest and most prestigious publishing houses, confirming the book's institutional standing.

4. Historical/Political Era Context 🌍🕰️📜 This First Edition was published in 1960, placing it at a pivotal moment in global history: the peak of African decolonization. While the book narrates the 19th-century Age of Imperialism, its publication in 1960 offers a necessary, modern reflection on the historical roots of independence movements across the continent.

The text focuses on a period when Central Africa, including territories now known as Sudan and Tanzania, was largely "an unmapped, unknown Sudan". The book functions as a tangible record of the vast geographical and political transformation that occurred in the subsequent century, providing critical context to the emerging post-colonial world of the 1960s.

5. The Ideal Collector 💡🧐🏛️ This volume is an essential acquisition for a curator of Exploration Literature and 20th-Century Historical Non-Fiction.

It is ideally suited for a collector who specializes in canonical accounts of African exploration or First Editions by respected contemporary historians. The handwritten notation confirming its First Edition status adds a layer of bookselling history, making it a desirable artifact of the early book trade.

6. Value & Rarity 💎✨🏛️ This book is a First Edition, First Printing, a key bibliographical milestone for a celebrated author. The volume is approximately 65 years old.

Its scarcity is moderate as a trade edition, but the value is maintained by its status as a canonical historical text. The handwritten inscription "95 5.00 1st" confirms that this specific copy was identified and priced as a First Edition by a dealer, adding a Provenance Premium related to bookselling history.

7. Condition 🔎📚✨ The physical condition has been assessed directly from the provided high-resolution photography. The book is deemed to be in Very Good Antique Condition.

• Binding: Bound in publisher's textured orange cloth with title and author stamped in black on the spine.

• Text Block: The text block is secure and clean, with light toning appropriate for its age.

• Endpapers: Features original white endpapers.

• Wear: The cloth binding shows light rubbing and darkening at the spine ends and corners.

• Internal Marks: Contains handwritten pencil inscription on the front free endpaper detailing its early retail history.

• Illustrations: Contains intact black and white historical photographs and maps throughout the volume.

8. Fun Facts & Unique Features 🤓📜🤩

• The New Yorker Origin: Portions of this book originally appeared in the prestigious American magazine, The New Yorker.

• The Ptolemy Map: The book features a reproduction of Ptolemy's Map of the World from c. A.D. 150, demonstrating the 19th-century explorers' quest to solve a mystery that had persisted since antiquity.

• The Nile's Source: The book details the intense rivalry between explorers Speke and Burton in their race to be the first to definitively locate the source of the Nile River.

• The Herodotus Quote: The title page features a quote from Herodotus, Book ii, 34: "...of the sources of the Nile no one can give any account... it enters Egypt from parts beyond," framing the entire narrative as the resolution of an ancient mystery.

9. Supporting Information 🏷️📦💰

• Object Type: First Edition Historical Non-Fiction

• Author: Alan Moorehead

• Title: The White Nile

• Year/Period: 1960 (Copyright and Publication)

• Publisher: Harper & Brothers

• Place of Origin: New York

• Format/Binding: Publisher’s Orange Cloth

• Edition/Rarity: First Edition, First Printing

• Transcription of Marks (FFEP): 95 5.00 1st

• Library of Congress Card Number: 61-6197