Folio Archives 49: The Blue Nile and The White Nile by Alan Moorehead 2001
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1wcarter
The Blue Nile and The White Nile by Alan Moorehead 2001
The Blue Nile and The White Nile by Alan Moorehead 2001
At Khartoum, the milky waters of the White Nile meet the dark waters of the Blue Nile, and many years ago I had the privilege of seeing this phenomenon in person, and watching as the waters gradually mingled many miles downstream before meandering another 2000km. to Cairo, where the Nile branches into a complex Delta that flows out into the Mediterranean.
The two Niles were mysteries for millennia, with one arising in the Mountains of the Moon in Rwanda and the other at Lake Tana in the highlands of Ethiopia. The histories of the two Niles make fascinating reading, with the mystery of the Blue Nile being untangled well before that of the White Nile, as following the White Nile’s course upstream through the vast marshes of the Sudd in South Sudan proved almost impossible to the early explorers.
The Folio Society published the two histories in separate lavishly illustrated editions that make fascinating reading for anyone interested in the riverine mystery that fascinated historians for centuries.
Both books are bound in green moire silk, which on my copy (and most I have seen) has faded to a golden colour on the spines, which makes the gilt spine titles hard to read. The paper is semigloss in order to carry the illustrations on most pages.
The Blue Nile volume is 301 pages and the White Nile 320 pages. Both are fully indexed. The slipcase is pictorially illustrated on all sides, and is 26x20.3x6.5cm. I purchased it new with a 20% discount for AU$124 (£69) in 2001.
Wrap-around montage of slipcase
The light angle changes the pattern on the moire silk covers
Original promotional leaflet
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed at : http://www.librarything.com/topic/266300
The Blue Nile and The White Nile by Alan Moorehead 2001
At Khartoum, the milky waters of the White Nile meet the dark waters of the Blue Nile, and many years ago I had the privilege of seeing this phenomenon in person, and watching as the waters gradually mingled many miles downstream before meandering another 2000km. to Cairo, where the Nile branches into a complex Delta that flows out into the Mediterranean.
The two Niles were mysteries for millennia, with one arising in the Mountains of the Moon in Rwanda and the other at Lake Tana in the highlands of Ethiopia. The histories of the two Niles make fascinating reading, with the mystery of the Blue Nile being untangled well before that of the White Nile, as following the White Nile’s course upstream through the vast marshes of the Sudd in South Sudan proved almost impossible to the early explorers.
The Folio Society published the two histories in separate lavishly illustrated editions that make fascinating reading for anyone interested in the riverine mystery that fascinated historians for centuries.
Both books are bound in green moire silk, which on my copy (and most I have seen) has faded to a golden colour on the spines, which makes the gilt spine titles hard to read. The paper is semigloss in order to carry the illustrations on most pages.
The Blue Nile volume is 301 pages and the White Nile 320 pages. Both are fully indexed. The slipcase is pictorially illustrated on all sides, and is 26x20.3x6.5cm. I purchased it new with a 20% discount for AU$124 (£69) in 2001.
Wrap-around montage of slipcase
The light angle changes the pattern on the moire silk covers
Original promotional leaflet
An index of the other illustrated reviews in the "Folio Archives" series can be viewed at : http://www.librarything.com/topic/266300
2overthemoon
These are fascinating books. The spines on mine have faded, too.
3CarltonC
Thank you for these posts.
I have these, second hand, and the spines of mine have faded too. I appreciate sight of the original flyer.
As they are unlike other Folio volumes (shiny paper), I had always thought they were a Folio binding on another publisher’s books.
I have these, second hand, and the spines of mine have faded too. I appreciate sight of the original flyer.
As they are unlike other Folio volumes (shiny paper), I had always thought they were a Folio binding on another publisher’s books.
4elladan0891
I was lucky to acquire a set with no signs of sunning whatsoever about 2 years ago. The previous owner must have shelved it spines in. Unfortunately, I didn't know at the time that this particular set is so prone to fading, so in less then two years it started looking just like in the pictures above. My shelves are in a pretty bright room, but no direct sunlight hits them; this is the only book that faded there. All other books, even those that seem to be more prone to fading than an average book, such as Mistress Masham's Repose, have no signs of fading. So if anyone will be lucky enough to get a pristine copy of the set like I did - shelve it with spines facing in, this particular dye/material combination just can't handle sunlight...
