NILE NOTES OF A HOWADJI
Book Details + Condition: Harper & Brothers (New York). First American Edition, 1856. By George William Curtis. 360 pp, followed by 10 pp of publisher ads. Embossed boards with gilt on spine. Measures 7-3/4" x 5-1/2". In the early nineteenth century a trip to Egypt and up the Nile aboard a native dhahabîyeh (large sailing craft) was reserved for only the most adventurous traveler, or howadji, a Turkish word originally meaning "merchant" or "shopkeeper." Howadji soon became a term applied by local inhabitants to all foreign travelers. In 1851, George William Curtis popularized the term in his travel account, Nile Notes of a Howadji, explaining it as "the universal name for traveler. Contents include: Going to Boulak; The Ibis Sings; The Crew; The Landscape; Tracking; Flying; Thebes Triumphant; Nubian Welcome; and much more. Tight binding; bottom quarter / corner of front board has remnants of old water stain (which does not affect internal pages); bumped and rubbed corners, edges and spine ends; interior is clean and free of markings.
