This story is sweeping and dramatic, heroic and shameful. Ivory lust and contempt for human life seemed to make events of each century more appalling than the one that preceded it. All the great ancient civilizations of Asia and Europe esteemed elephant ivory. By 400 A.D. the three main areas of supply -- India, Syria and North Africa -- dwindled. The need for a more reliable trading system led Arab merchants to set up colonies on the coasts and islands of East Africa. Later, Portuguese adventurers found abundant sources on West Africa's fabulous Ivory Coast. In the 18th and early 19th centuries the game hunters, the ivory traders and the slavers played their part in the pattern of colonial expansion. Commerce in slaves became inextricably entwined with the ivory trade, and the second half of the 19th century was one of the blackest and bloodiest epochs in Africa's turbulent history. By 1900 colonial rule was becoming more firm, and European governments gradually realized the need for hunting restrictions and conservation measures although little was actually done until after the Second World War. Legendary figures occur throughout this book: Tippu Tip, the notorious Arab trader; H. M. Stanley, Charles Gordon, Emin Pasha; the "great white hunters" such as F. C Selous, James Sutherland, and W. C. Oswell. Stories of treachery and greed as well as thrilling exploits of the hunt abound. A fascinating book with some wonderful old photos. Out of print, but we generally have several copies available for $35 (or less, depending on condition).