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Book in the collection

The Boy Travellers on the Congo

by Thomas W. Knox

The Work

First published
1888
Original publisher
Harper & Brothers
Originally published in
New York

Drew's Copy

Edition
1888 Harper & Brothers edition
Publisher
Harper & Brothers
Published in
New York
Copy published
1888
Binding
Decorated green cloth hardcover with gilt and pictorial stamping
Collection status
On the shelves
Reading status
Owned
Condition
Good; moderate rubbing and edge wear, bumped and worn corners, light surface marks, and wear at the spine ends; the decorated binding, folding map, color plate, and text block remain intact
Travel LiteratureAdventure FictionCongoCentral AfricaHenry Morton StanleyNineteenth Century

Acquisition & Provenance

Acquired
June 28, 2025
Acquisition type
Purchased
Source
eBay
Seller
lastexitbooks
Item price
$40.00
Order total
$50.28
Delivered
July 3, 2025

How This Copy Came to the Library

Drew purchased this copy on eBay from lastexitbooks on June 28, 2025. The book itself cost $40, and the order total was $50.28. It was delivered on July 3.

Why This Book Is in My Library

This volume adds Knox’s journey through Central Africa with Henry Morton Stanley to Drew’s Boy Travellers shelf.

Place in My Physical Library

This volume stands with Drew’s growing shelf of Thomas W. Knox travel and adventure books, between The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire and The Boy Travellers in Mexico.

About This Copy

The title page identifies this as the 1888 Harper & Brothers edition of The Boy Travellers on the Congo: Adventures of Two Youths in a Journey with Henry M. Stanley “Through the Dark Continent.” The copyright notice is dated 1887.

The green cloth binding retains a broad pictorial panel of a Central African settlement across its upper board, with gilt titling below. The back cover carries an outline map of Africa marking Stanley’s route and the Congo Free State. Inside, the book preserves a folding map of Central Africa tracing Stanley’s transcontinental route, a color wildlife plate, its tissue guard, and a publisher’s catalogue situating the volume among Knox’s other illustrated travel books.

This decorated 1888 volume preserves its folding map, color plate, and visual record of how Knox presented Central Africa to American young readers.

Part of a CollectionThe Boy Travellers

Nine Boy Travellers volumes by Thomas W. Knox, collected as artifacts of American travel writing, childhood reading, and the rapidly changing world of the 1880s and 1890s.

Explore the collection
Drew's Copy
Front cover of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers on the Congo
The decorated green cloth front cover of Drew's 1888 copy.
Shelf and spine of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers on the Congo
The Congo volume among Drew's Thomas W. Knox books.
Back cover of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers on the Congo
The back cover, printed with a map of Africa marking Stanley's route and the Congo Free State.
Half-title of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers on the Congo
The tissue guard over the title page, showing age-related discoloration.
Title page of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers on the Congo
The title page records the 1888 Harper & Brothers publication and the book's journey with Henry M. Stanley.
Copyright page of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers on the Congo
The 1887 copyright notice beneath a contemporary Harper & Brothers catalogue of Knox's travel books.
Illustration of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers on the Congo
A surviving color plate depicting African wildlife in a tropical river landscape.
Physical detail of Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers on the Congo
Physical detail
In the Same Series
Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Levant The Levant Drew's 1895 copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in Northern Europe Northern Europe Drew's 1892 copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in Great Britain and Ireland Great Britain and Ireland Drew's 1891 copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in Mexico Mexico Drew's 1890 copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Russian Empire Russian Empire Drew's 1887 copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part First: Japan and China Japan and China Drew's Undated; in circulation by Christmas 1892 copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in the Far East, Part Fourth: Egypt and the Holy Land Egypt and the Holy Land Drew's Undated copy Drew's copy of The Boy Travellers in South America South America Drew's 1886 copy
More by This Author
Drew's copy of The Young Nimrods Around the World The Young Nimrods Around the World Drew's 1882 copy