ROGER (Jacques-François). - Lot 73

ROGER (Jacques-François). Senegalese Fables, Collected from the Wolof… Paris: Nepveu, Firmin Didot, Ponthieu, 1828. — In-18, 160 x 105: 288 pp., printed cover. Paperback, untrimmed. Rare first edition of this collection of fables translated and adapted from Wolof—or Woolof— (a language spoken in Senegal, Gambia, and Mauritania) by Baron Jacques-François Roger (1787–1849), a naval captain and the first civil governor of the colony of Senegal. The work is divided into three parts, which Baron Roger describes as follows: “The first, by far the largest, contains only fables translated from or modeled on the Wolof. There is not a single one that I have not heard told by Senegalese people, and whose distinctive character I have not preserved. The second part contains fables whose subjects, characters, and descriptions belong to the regions of Senegal. The few fables that make up the third part are entitled to the designation ‘Senegalese’ only because they were composed during my travels in Senegal; it seemed to me that this was sufficient to include them alongside the others, at least as adopted sisters. ” Paperback copy, as published, in excellent condition. The back cover features an advertisement for the novel *Kélédor* by the same author, published the same year.