Sport in Somaliland

This is Copy 98 of the 1900 limited and signed edition of the speciality publisher Rowland Ward. There was an original Polish edition of 1897, but, as in the case of subsequent English editions, this was not produced to the same standards.

The book describes and illustrates a hunting trip in the Horn of Africa by a Polish Count, Joseph Potocki, which took place two years after the transfer of Somaliland by Britain to Italy, although at the time (1896) Britain still retained control of the territory, with authority vesting with the British Resident in Berbera, the capital.

Potocki was accompanied by two other Polish Counts, Jan Grudzinski and Tomasz Zamoyski. They travelled to London in the autumn of 1895 for advice and supplies for the expedition. 

After shipping the supplies - 200 pieces of baggage - the party sailed to Aden and transshipped to Berbera, arriving on 14 December and meeting their 'perfect and English-speaking' guide, Alikhar, and the 'army' that Alikhar had recruited - 'about fifty', including 25 drivers (for the 50 pack camels), grooms for four horses, servants and camp-followers, and the only woman - a Somali shepherdess for the flock of sheep taken with the party to supplement the rations.

The group then travelled to their first hunting area in the Haud region and made camp on 23 December. Potocki's 1 January to 29 February 1896 diary of the hunting trip occupies two-thirds of the text. After Haud, the party moved to a second hunting area in the Ogaden (both illustrated in the coloured map).

The main illustrations are by the author's Polish compatriot, Piotr Stachiewicz, while many of the others are taken from photographs.

Rowland Ward. 1900. 140 pp including the index at rear. On heavy gloss art and with 65 half-tone illustrations in the text (7 black & white and the others in 2, 3 or 4 colours) + 18 inserted sometimes creased tissue-protected monochrome photogravure plates (of which 5 are double pages), vignetted on India paper(*) + a 9-fold colour map inserted at the back. Hardcover. English. Rowland Ward. 1900. ISBN: . 140 pp including the index at rear. On heavy gloss art and with 65 half-tone illustrations in the text (7 black & white and the others in 2, 3 or 4 colours) + 18 inserted sometimes creased tissue-protected monochrome photogravure plates (of which 5 are double pages), vignetted on India paper + a 9-fold colour map inserted at the back. The covers are worn with the lion head considerably faded. Corners are bumped and worn, and slightly damaged, and with what appears to be a remnant of a color matched stamp on the bottom of the spine. While the binding is intact the book is lightly shook as the front hinge is cracked. There is discoloration particular around the edges of the flyleaf and around the plates. Page 43 has paper damage at the top with the paper remnant stuck to page 45. Also at the top of page 55 and damage to the top of page 118 at the fold. Slight water marks appear on the back of 'Stalking Beisa' plate, also on part of the front of plate 'Tracking the Lion' as well as the rear. There is light corrugation in parts on the odd plate or two. However, most of the text blocks and images are still bright and clear. Book No: 2504413