MASSAJA, Gugliemo. I miei trentacinque anni di missione nell’alta Etiopia. Memorie storiche di Guglielmo Massaja, Cappuccino già Vicario Apostolico dei Galla, Cardinale del Titolo de S. Vitale. Roma: Coop. Tipografica Manuzio, and Tivoli: Stabilimento Tipografico Mantero, 1921 – 1930 Twelve volumes in three, Roy.8vo. (1). vii,160,170,171,192pp. (2). 160,152,172,178pp. errata leaf. (3). 182,167,152,183pp. With numerous illustrations throughout.

Guglielmo Massaja (1809-1889) went to Massaua and the Galla countries in 1846 as newly elected bishop for that region. Over the next thirty-five years he worked in Ethiopia mostly in the Oromo country. During his return to Italy in 1879 he lost all his notes and this monumental work is completely written from memory.

This is a new edition of the twelve folio volumes of 1885 – 1889 and contains an appendix on Massaja’s funeral as well as more up to date information. For the original edition – [Fumagalli: 292] [Pankhurst: 38] – “contains much useful information, particularly for areas not otherwise described…” Old library ink-stamps to the blank margins of the first, fifth and ninth volumes, shelf numbers to spines, a very nice copy in the publisher’s cream cloth with red and black lettering and the mounted colour photograph of the author to the upper board of each volume.