Beschreibung:

General Gordon Autograph letter signed, to Rev. Horace Waller reporting on the return of his lieutenant Romolo Gessi from an expedition to Lake Albert, discussing the ongoing question of the source of the Nile, and speculating on the whereabouts of Stanley ("...I have no news of Stanley and can only suppose that he passed from Lake Victoria to the West, saw the south end of Lake Albert & then went on to, perhaps, the rest of the lakes I suppose must exist south of lake Albert..."), adding in a postscript that "Murchison Falls is 22 miles from entrance of lake", 2 pages, 4to, lined paper cut from an exercise book ("...Excuse page of blank book but I have no paper..."), Kissi, 29 April 1876, red ink stamp (Red Cross and St John charity sale), wear at folds "...Gessi, one of my people, came back from Lake Albert today, he took two life Boats with him, and went round the lake in 9 days. It is from 140 to 150 miles long & 50 miles wide, very tempestuous & dangerous to navigate..." GORDON ON THE EXPLORATION OF THE AFRICAN GREAT LAKES. Gessi reported that a stream flowed out of the Nile to the west a few miles above the lake, but Gordon's own explorations later that summer proved this to be incorrect. Stanley's expedition, meanwhile, would finally establish the validity of Speke's discoveries by proving that Lake Tanganyika had no outlet into Lake Albert - as Gordon here speculated - and thus cannot be considered as the source of the Nile. PROVENANCE:Phillips, London, 13 March 1997, lot 368Condition reportFor further information on the condition of this lot please contact Fenella.Theis@sothebys.com