BURTON (Richard F.).
Wit and Wisdom from West Africa; or, a Book of Proverbial Philosophy, Idioms, Enigmas, and Laconisms.
Burton's Compendium of West African Proverbs
A good copy of a fascinating work, rarely found in such condition.
Burton was a fine linguist and had served as Regimental Interpreter whilst in the Bengal Army, so it is hardly surprising that when posted as H.M. Consul at Fernando Po in 1861 he should pursue this great interest. Within two years he was able to write to his great friend Monkton Milnes from Dahome “African proverbs nearly ready. I shall send them to Tinsley…” (Dahome, 31st May, 1863).
Although not an original work, the material for this book had only existed previously in verbal forms. It is one of the rarest of Burton’s works, and comprises proverbs from seven languages (Wolof, Kanuri, Oji, Ga Yoruba, Efik and Fan), along with other miscellaneous material.
According to Penzer, this copy, bound in plum cloth, belongs to the “remaindered” second issue. The first issue, bound in red cloth, is exceedingly rare. Penzer, p75; Casati, p71.
