KING SOLOMON'S MINES

London, Paris, New York, & Melbourne: Cassell & Company, Limited, 1885. Very good.. First edition, first issue of this enormously influential Lost World work, formative in its genre. H. Rider Haggard is said to have "invented" the lost world adventure genre with KING SOLOMON'S MINES, a fantastic blending of fact and fiction (Hoppenstand, 7). The story begins with a Stanley and Livingstone-esque setup of white adventurer Allan Quartermain tasked with finding an explorer lost in Africa, but a mysterious map and rumors of long-hidden treasure draws him into conflict with the Zulu people. Claiming to be "white men from the stars," he and his companions influence local politics as they seek the lost riches.
The themes of imperialism and colonialism are deeply entrenched in the work, as they were in Haggard's own life. His childhood was "laced with his mother's recollections of life in [colonial] India," and as a young man he acted as the secretary to the governor of Natal, even hoisting the flag at the annexation of the Transvaal (Bleiler, 324).
Gary Hoppenstand argues that KING SOLOMON'S MINES "established the lost world adventure as a popular category of formula fiction," noting its influence on writers such as Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and A. Merritt (5). This copy, complete with its original fold-out lithographed "reproduction" of the treasure map, is an attractive example of a genre landmark. 7.5'' x 5''. Original red cloth binding with black lettering and designs. Fold-out color lithograph of the map to the mines. "Bamamgwato" on p.10; "to let twins to live" on p.122; "wrod" on p.307; 320 pages followed by [8] leaves of ads dated "5G.8.85," four leaves of which are unopened. Engraved bookplate of Jos[eph] Cowell tipped onto front pastedown. Hinges professionally strengthened. Binding with light edgewear and spots of toning, some sunning to spine; slight lean.