8vo (198 x 129 mm). Half-title. (A few short marginal tears with old cellotape repairs, slight toning and staining.) Original red cloth decorated in blind, spine gilt-lettered and decorated (rebacked preserving original spine, spine sunned, some soiling, slight wear to extremities). Provenance: W.H. Smith & Son Library (embossed stamp); The University of Minnesota Library (bookplate, embossed stamp, shelf-marks, withdrawn stamps). 

FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE of Burton’s first published translations. Already fluent in 29 languages and nearly a dozen more dialects by the time Wit and Wisdom was published in 1869, Burton used material from 7 different West African languages which had previously only been communicated orally. Penzer p. 75-76; Spink 36 (“most rare”).