East Africa (British): Its history, people, commerce, industries, and resources. Compiled by. . . . de [AFRICA -- KENYA & UGANDA]. PLAYNE, Somerset (Comp.) & GALE, F. Holderness (Ed.) - 1908-1909.

[Woking (Surrey) & London]: The Foreign and Colonial Compiling and Publishing Co., [The Gresham Press, Printed and Bound, and Blocks for illustrations produced by Unwin Brothers, Ltd.], 1908-1909. Folio. 10.25 x 12.25 in. 443, [1] pp. Text printed in three columns, 100s of photo illustrations, many maps, text illustrations. Deluxe publisher’s full brown morocco over beveled board, gilt illustration stamped on front cover of giraffes and ostriches, gilt ruled borders, raised bands on spine, gilt ornament & lettering, a.e.g. (faint tidemark to spine, minor rubbing, slight bumping to corners, front upper hinge just starting), still a G copy. First edition of this lavishly illustrated and very scarce real estate and business promotional volume on Edwardian British East Africa, encompassing present day Kenya, Uganda, and Zanzibar. The volume includes detailed descriptions of the history of the British Protectorates in East Africa, the native trives including the Bantu, Somali, Galla, Swahili, Masai, Nandi, Suk, Kavironda, and others. In addition, the financial institutions, commercial ports, schools, universities, and more are described. Of particular interest are the extensive sections on the many different businesses newly established from the 1880s through the early 20th century in Mombasa, Nairobi, and surrounding areas, including rubber plantations, ostrich farms, sawmills, tea farming, forests, logging, sheep & cattle farming, hospitals, and the building and economic impact of the Uganda Railway. The section on big game hunting and the fauna of East Africa was written by A. Blayney Percival (1875-1941) who pioneered game preservation in Kenya, and describes hunting elephants, leopards, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, rhinoceros, lions, Waller’s Gazelle, and others, as well as detailing the skinning and preserving of trophies, advertising the local safari and taxidermy outfits, and more.