#MB33
1875
Letter, octavo (ca. 20.5x12.5 cm). 2 pp. Purple ink on grayish lined wove paper mounted into a larger sheet of paper. Photograph also mounted in a larger sheet of paper. Fold marks, but both items overall in very good condition.
This interesting letter from Rohlfs' 1875 visit to the United States, mentions various topics of interest for his proposed lectures there, including his travels in Morocco, where he crossed the Atlas Mountains and visited the Oases of Draa, Tafilet and Tuat and his travels from the Mediterranean via Lake Chad to the Gulf of Guinea. In 1865-1867, Rohlfs was the first European to travel from Tripoli across the Sahara via Lake Chad and then along the Niger River to its mouth on the Gulf of Guinea. Rohlfs trip to the United States followed shortly after his return from his latest expedition in Egypt where together with Georg August Schweinfurth he "Ascend[ed] the Nile from Alexandria to Asyut to carry out an exploration of the Western Desert. This well-planned enterprise was intended to provide detailed information on the Sahara, its inhabitants, geography and botany, and was backed by a team of eminent scientists"(Howgego, Continental Exploration 1850-1940, R28).
