Equatorial Africa And Country Of Dwarfs

Equatorial Africa and Country of Dwarfs by Paul du Chaillu (John Murray, 1892)
ISBN: None (because 1892 didn’t know what an ISBN was, and Paul du Chaillu would probably have laughed heartily at the idea of cataloguing systems while dodging mosquitos the size of teacups).
Condition: Good — which at Crappy Old Books means: the binding is holding on with Victorian fortitude, the pages have aged into a lovely sepia tone (think Instagram filter but authentic), and it gives off that faintly adventurous scent of a book that’s seen more continents in print than you probably will in person.

Paul du Chaillu was a 19th-century explorer, zoologist, adventurer, and raconteur — a man who stomped through the jungles of equatorial Africa with more enthusiasm than health and safety officers would permit today. Famous for bringing the gorilla to the horrified attention of Victorian drawing rooms, he also spent time among peoples he described (with that mix of awe, exaggeration, and occasional eyebrow-raising terminology of his era) as “dwarfs.” This book is part travelogue, part ethnography, part wide-eyed wonder — and part “how on earth did this man survive to write it all down?”

Reading Equatorial Africa and Country of Dwarfs is like sitting by the fire while a slightly eccentric uncle regales you with tales of jungle rivers, mysterious tribes, wildlife that could kill you in six different ways, and the occasional cultural observation that tells you as much about the Victorians as it does about Africa. It’s earnest, dated, fascinating, sometimes cringey, and always gloriously alive with the energy of an explorer who thought nothing of hacking through miles of rainforest just to get to the next anecdote.

Our copy is rated Good, which is frankly miraculous considering it’s been around since Gladstone was Prime Minister. Expect some bumps and bruises: worn edges, pages that look like they’ve seen a century’s worth of curious fingers, but nothing fatal. It’s holding up better than most of us would after a trek through equatorial Africa.

Perfect for: fans of Victorian travel writing, armchair explorers, lovers of curious ethnography, or anyone who enjoys the intoxicating mix of genuine adventure and 19th-century eccentricity. Also excellent as a coffee-table book if you’d like visitors to think you’re the sort of person who casually reads about pygmy tribes and gorilla-hunting before breakfast.

Keep browsing: See more Travel books Other books by Paul du Chaillu