Lieut. Col. J. H. Patterson, D.S.O.
PATTERSON, Lieut.-Col. J. H., D.S.O.
The Man-Eaters of Tsavo and Other East African Adventures.
First Edition, First Impression - From the Sporting Library of Walter Rutherford Peterson
London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, St. Martin's Street, 1907.
First edition, first impression. Octavo. xx, 338 pp. With a foreword by Frederick Courteney Selous, photographic frontispiece of eight lion heads shot by the author, numerous photographic illustrations throughout, and folding map. Original publisher's deep blue cloth, gilt titles to spine, gilt lion's head device within double gilt circle to upper board, top edge gilt.
A compelling first impression of one of the most celebrated books of African travel, railway history and big-game literature, retaining the striking original publisher's cloth binding with its gilt lion's head emblem.
In March 1898, Lieutenant-Colonel John Henry Patterson arrived in British East Africa to supervise the construction of a railway bridge over the Tsavo River, part of the Uganda Railway. The work was soon overshadowed by an extraordinary and terrifying series of attacks. Two large, maneless male lions began taking Indian and African railway workers from the camps at night, penetrating thorn enclosures and causing such fear that work on the railway was severely disrupted. After months of unsuccessful traps, night watches and attempted ambushes, Patterson killed the two lions in December 1898.
The story immediately entered legend. Patterson's account records 28 Indian labourers killed, together with additional African victims for whom no complete record was kept; later retellings associated the lions with a total of 135 deaths. Modern scientific research has suggested that the number consumed was closer to 35, though the scale and psychological impact of the attacks remain remarkable. The preserved lions were later sold to Chicago's Field Museum, where they remain on display today, and the story eventually inspired the film The Ghost and the Darkness.
This copy carries a particularly fitting provenance. The front pastedown bears the large pictorial sporting bookplate of Walter Rutherford Peterson, illustrated with game birds, moose, bear, woodland cabin and leaping fish. Books bearing Peterson's bookplate are known in specialist sporting and travel collections, and its presence here gives this famous African hunting narrative a highly sympathetic collecting history.
Condition
A near fine copy in the original publisher's cloth. The deep blue cloth remains attractive and the gilt lion's head to the upper board is bright and well defined. Gilt lettering to spine remains clear. Some rubbing and bumping to corners and extremities, with wear and slight fraying at the spine head and lighter wear at the foot. Front pastedown with the pictorial bookplate of Walter Rutherford Peterson; small early ownership inscription to the front free endpaper. Otherwise an outstanding copy of an outstanding title.
Reference
Czech, An Annotated Bibliography of African Big Game Hunting Books, p. 125.
