Major H. Rayne — The Ivory Raiders

London, William Heinemann, 1923 . First edition. Cloth. Illustrated throughout, this is the very scarce first edition of Major H. Rayne's accounts of his journeys through Kenya to investigate the ivory trade. The very scarce first edition, first impression of this work.A first hand account of the northwest frontier of the Kenya colony, in which the author details his trips to Turkana/Turkwell and find out more about gun-running and ivory poaching.In 1917, Rayne visits Turkana again, with a 100 men of the Kings African rifles for garrison duty. This trip is also detailed in the work.Illustrated with twenty-eight plates, including a folding plate. Collated, complete.Harry Rayne was a New Zealander who served with the Mounted Rifles in the Boer War and then with the King's African Rifles before joining the British East Africa Police in Mombasa. With two former owner's inscriptions to the front free endpaper, 'G. A. Paul, d.d. V. G. G. 1924', and a further inscription from a man named J L Sullivan, who identifies himself as a chief inspector of the Kenya Police in 1958, and discusses climbing Mt Elgon in 1959. In the publisher's original cloth binding. Shelf wear to back strip tail, with a touch of fraying to back strip head, and light marks to boards. Inscriptions to front free endpaper. Internally, firmly bound. Pages lightly age toned, with instances of spotting to leaves surrounding plates. Very Good Indeed . Ill.: Not Stated. Very Good Indeed .