My Dark Companions and Their Strange Stories

London: Sampson, Low, Marston, 1893. First edition. Plates and illustrations in text. viii, 335, [1] pp + 32 pp publisher's catalogue. 1 vols. 8vo. Original illustrated olive cloth lettered in gilt, a.e.g. Some rippling to cloth of spine, front hinge discretely repaired, small spot to front board, but an attractive copy. First edition. Plates and illustrations in text. viii, 335, [1] pp + 32 pp publisher's catalogue. 1 vols. 8vo. Inscribed to a prominent animal rights activist. Inscribed at length by Stanley on the title-page: "To the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, who has done so much for the better treatment of animals. This book which posits so many African morals upon the same subject is sent with the compliments & regards of the author." Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts (1814-1906), was one of the most active philanthropists in 19th century England. She subsidized the Ragged School Union (at Dickens' urging), built model housing for workers on London's East End, and undertook a score of additional initiatives on behalf of the London poor. She was also a tireless activist for animal rights. "As president of the ladies' committee of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) she instituted and provided funds for a national prize essay contest, for which thousands of children competed annually. She spoke at RSPCA meetings in all parts of the country; 'life, whether in man or beast, is sacred' was one of her much repeated sayings. She was also a tireless letter writer in the cause: one such eloquent indictment of cruelty concerned the ill treatment of Edinburgh tram-horses. By her munificence, in the same year there was unveiled a fountain and statue beside George IV Bridge in the same city, in memory of Greyfriars Bobby, the dog who refused to leave his master's grave. She provided other fountains and drinking troughs in metropolitan areas, of which the best-known are in Victoria Park, Hackney (erected at a cost of £5000 in 1862), at London zoo, in Regent's Park, and in Ancoats, Manchester. As part of her interest in promoting self-reliance and sound household economy among the disadvantaged, she encouraged (and practised) the keeping and breeding of goats, and became president of the British Goat Society" (ODNB). Provenance: Humphrey Winterton (his booklabel inside front cover)