The final catalogue reviewed in this column is one produced by Bernard Shapiro on books from and about Africa.

Out of Africa (Catalogue “Africa 2003”, Bernard J. Shapiro Rare Books)

Bernard J. Shapiro, smart London Bookseller, has recently released a new catalogue of material on the darkest continent – Africa -- under the title “Africa 2003”. As are all Mr. Shapiro’s catalogues, this is a slick production with excellent color photography and thorough bibliography. Julian MacKenzie, in the introduction, tells us, “I hope you will find some books to tempt you.” About a third of the titles come from the library of R. M. Stanley. While there are some books that list for more than $7,000 there are also many titles that sell for less than $300 and few listed under $100.

While it’s a stretch to discuss such material on a site primarily focused on Americana there are several ways in which some of this material is appropriate. Those who collect black history may be interested in Thomas Besolow’s “From the Darkness of Africa to the Light of America”, Boston, 1891 from the library of R. M. Stanley. There are 177 titles in all, thirteen of which are American imprints.

Item #39 is of extraordinary interest. It is collection of more than 20 pamphlets from the library of R. M. Stanley contained in two volumes. Some relate to Mr. Stanley’s visit to New York in 1872. Collected ephemera is difficult to obtain and inevitably rare. Mr. Shapiro maintains a website – www.shapero.com and may be contacted by email at rarebooks@shapero.com. His shop is located at 32 Saint George Street, London W1S 2EA.