Three Piece Osa Johnson Africana Collection

Following the loss of Martin in 1937, Osa Johnson's only true love and lifelong partner in world exploration, she set out to document their adventures together in what would become two classic bestselling works, I Married Adventure (1940) and Four Years in Paradise (1941). Not only did both titles become standard and well known adventure tales, each book was originally published in zebra stripe and giraffe spot cloth covers that have been seen extensively over the past 80 years in fashion and interior design photo shoots, as well as weddings, graduations, and other special life events. Each title in its original first printing is highly sought after in large part because of these covers.

For your auction bidding pleasure, please consider these three relics of history being sold as one package:

1: I Married Adventure: The Lives and Adventures of Martin and Osa Johnson, by Osa Johnson. Published by J. B. Lippincott Company of Philadelphia in 1940. First Printing of the First Edition. 376 pages, plus numerous plates of photos. Good condition without the dust jacket. Light general use, wear, and age.

2: Four Years in Paradise, by Osa Johnson. Published by J. B. Lippincott Company of Philadelphia in 1941. 345 pages, plus numerous plates of photos. Good condition without the dust jacket. Unfortunately, a previous owner affixed a book plate to the pictorial front paste down (inside front cover), and also affixed the clipped text of the dust jacket to the front free end leaf.

3: Circa 1730 steel engraved and hand colored map of Africa. This lovely decorative map of Africa measures 8 x 6 ½ inches on a slightly larger folded sheet.

This auction item was donated by Lloyd Zimmer Books and Maps of Chanute.

12" x 18" Poster of the Book Cover for Martin Johnson's Over African Jungles

The book was published in 1935. This poster of the dust jacket is being produced from the original copy in our museum's archives.

Artist Biography
Edward Shenton was an illustrator, author, editor, poet, and teacher. He was born in Pottstown, Pa. November 29, 1895 and grew up in West Philadelphia where he attended high school. At age 13 he was confined to his home for two years with an illness that gave him time to read and teach himself to draw. Most of his drawings were of medieval knights in armor. Returning to school he became the editor of his high school magazine and yearbook, where he contributed both in writing and illustrating. He began studies at the Museum School of Art in 1916 but dropped out in 1917 when he and his brother joined the 103rd Engineers, AEF and served in France during World War I. His drawings from the front lines were published in The Philadelphia Record in 1919. On return, he enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts where his teachers included illustrators Thorton Oakley, George Harding both from the original classes of Howard Pyle. In 1922 he won the Lee Prize and later two Cresson Traveling Scholarships to study in Paris in 1923-24.

Career
Between 1923 and 1976, he illustrated over 130 books including The Yearling, Tender Is the Night, Green Hills of Africa, Freedom River Florida 1845, This Is My Country, The Flaming Sword, and three volumes of the Rivers of America Series. He also illustrated "The Long Trains Roll" by Stephen W. Meader (Harcourt, Brace and Co.) in 1944. During the 1930s he was the "house" illustrator for Scribner's magazine, where he drew interior illustrations as well as covers such as this one for Martin Johnson's OVER AFRICAN JUNGLES.

Do you have a "favorite" Martin and Osa Johnson image? We can produce photographs and posters of over 20,000 images available for review in our Safari Museum Expedition & Exhibition Image Gallery.

Check it out here:

https://safarimuseum.com/gallery/?//