Madagascar - An Historical and Descriptive Account of the Island and Its Former Dependencies [Two volumes]

London: Macmillan and Co.. Good+ with no dust jacket. 1886. First Edition. Hardcover. Ex-library copies, New Plymouth Public Library. Some library labels and markings. 15mm split to cloth in front joint of each volume. Narrow split to gutter at front hinge of each volume. Volume One with 5mm loss of cloth along edges of lower corners of boards. Some leaves unopened in Volume One. Library call numbers at tail of spines. Complete with all maps.; Two volumes (complete). Volume One: [4], vii- xix, [1], 569, [1 (blank)] pages + [2] pages advertisements + frontispiece + 11 maps (most with some colour, 2 folding). Another 3 maps within the paginated leaves (2 in-text, 1 full page); Volume Two: x (first leaf blank), 576 pages + 4 maps (2 colour full page, 1 folding black and white, 1 large folding colour (1 colour tint) map at rear). An additional 1 in-text map within the pagination. Original green cloth boards with gilt lettering on spines. Page dimensions: 229 x 152mm. "Since William Ellis wrote the 'History of Madagascar' in 1838 well-nigh half a century has elapsed, and during this interval nearly all the notable contributions to the English literautre, recording the annals of the great African island, have been furnished by missionaries. Various memoirs, indeed, relating to the natural history of the country, have been publisehed by laymen, but the historical records of the Malagasy people have been viewed almost exclusively from a missionary and sentimental point of view, at least on this side of the Channel. Now in France, on the other hand, the story of Madagascar and its inhabitants has been told over and over again by military and naval commanders, civil officials, travellers, geographers, priests, and professional authors of all schools, and generally by men of the most varied views and experience. In consquence it must be confessed that the bibliography on the subject of Madagascar in the French language is far richer than the scanty supply of literature in the English tongue relating to the East African archipelago." - from the Introduction, page vii. Samuel Pasfield Oliver (1838-1907) was a Captain of the Royal Artillery, and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. "Finally his two volumes on ‘Madagascar' (1886), based on many sources, gave a detailed account of the island, its history, and its inhabitants." - Wikipedia entry on Samuel Pasfield Oliver, accessed May 2021. .