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Pic: Bonhams/BNPS

The Quahkah, an extinct subspecies of zebra.

A 200-year-old volume of art work that gave Briton's their first look at the country of South Africa has surfaced.

Natural history painter Samuel Daniell became one of the first to depict the African country while on an expedition there at the turn of the 19th century.

His raw, almost photographic, paintings were shipped back to the UK to offer westerners a before unseen window into South Africa.

The stunning works, which were done before the dawn of photography, picture wild animals and native peoples against the rugged backdrop of the the country's Atlantic coast.

This first edition copy has been in private ownership in South Africa for the past century but will be sold on February 1 by Bonhams auctioneers.

It is thought to be worth up to £25,000.