A Geographical Historie of Africa, 1600 - James Grey Jackson's Personal Working Copy - Leo Africanus

Presenting a profoundly significant historical document: the 1600 English edition of Leo Africanus' 'A Geographical Historie of Africa.' This is no ordinary volume; it is the personal working copy of James Grey Jackson, author of the seminal 'An Account of the Empire of Marocco' (1809). This book provides a tangible connection to the early exploration and understanding of Africa, making it a truly remarkable piece.

This 1600, first english edition is a translation of Leo Africanus' foundational text on Africa, originally published in Italian in 1550. Leo Africanus (al-Hasan ibn Muhammad al-Wazzan al-Fasi) provided the first detailed European descriptions of North and West-Central Africa, including Timbuktu, and offered an invaluable Islamic perspective on the continent. Notably, this specific volume was owned and used by James Grey Jackson, a British merchant and consul in Morocco, whose own influential work drew upon Leo Africanus. His ownership inscription is still visible, although visibly struck-through on the title page, presumably by a subsequent owner.

Adding to its historical value are the lengthy Arabic annotations before the index, written by James Grey Jackson in the calligraphic style of North Africa, the region from which Leo Africanus originated. This further enhances the book's authenticity. Translated and collected by John Pory, this edition was a landmark in the dissemination of knowledge about Africa in England, remaining a standard reference for centuries. Its historical impact is further evidenced by its credited use in the first English appearance of 'hippopotamus' and 'zebra,' and potential influence on literary works like Shakespeare's 'Othello' and Ben Jonson's 'Masque of Blackness.'"

The translation in arabic appears to be "Then I entered the city of Tamkhazi and the country of Tamhazi* is [in] the country of Cathay. Travellers claim that the wall surrounding their country and their lands and the rest of their [the correct word is ‘buildings’ but the word used instead is incorrect and meaningless] takes 23 days to traverse from west to east".

This appears to be a quotation from a medieval treatise work nowadays known as the ‘Book of Geography’ - ‘Kitab al-Jughrafiya’ by Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi. The small errors in the Arabic inscription are further evidence that this was a non-native writer.

The city of ‘Tamkhazi’ is referred to in 'Ibn Sa'id al-Maghribi's' work and other medieval Arabic geographies as ‘Tamghach’. It seems to have been in Central Asia if not China and is probably now lost in the mists of time, but has a namesake in an important 11th-century ruler called Tamghach Khan.

The book is bound in eighteenth-century calf, rebacked, and shows signs of its age. commensurate with any working copy. Notably, it lacks the map plate (not always present) and title page, which has been replaced by a beautifully handwritten example.