Happy Trails

Found at Idletime Books, this treasure is going straight to my dear Danielle. D is a brilliant filmmaker/photographer who trailed her camera through a small part of Africa, too. Luckily, our paths crossed. The vintage design on the cover of this book (a 1924 1st edition!) captured my imagination. I think it is even more beautiful when you can hold it in your hands. A good chunk of today was spent immersed in the world of tangled jungles, open savannahs and many, many lions. I hope you like it, Danielle!

From Google Books: With illustrations from the author's photographs. Johnson, previously a photographer of wild men in the islands of the South Seas, takes his first African safari in the early 1920s. With his wife Osa he journeys through Eastern Africa, photographing and hunting wild animals. Filled with thrilling adventures, near-fatal mishaps, and moments of quiet beauty, this is the story of the beginning of the Johnson's love affair with Africa. In beautifully descriptive prose, Johnson describes the creatures of the Savannah. A wonderfully entertaining book.

Although some of Johnson's observances (including references to local people as "savages") are much less than politically correct today, this book gives a rare and intimate glimpse into an artist and adventurer's first encounter with Africa, from a time long-gone. Treasure.

PS You should watch Danielle's disarmingly charming short doc, "81 year-old Sweethearts," right here. You will smile the rest of the day. I promise.