Views in Abyssinia, 1868

File — Box: 4

Identifier: 4

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

22 stereoscopic albumen prints, laid on yellow card, measuring 17 x 8.5 cm., each with printed title and commentary on the reverse; housed in a recent calf-backed solander box (the spine in the form of a book), gilt lettering.

Dates

1868

Creator

From the Collection: Winterton, Humphrey (Person)

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

To inquire about access to this collection, please contact the Herskovits Library at africana@northwestern.edu.

Historic Notes

The views are undated and anonymous. However, all the evidence, particularly some of the commentary, points to their being the work of one or more of the members of the photographic team in the Corps of Engineers (see Object no. 3) and that the images were captured on the march to Magdala (which took place from January to April 1868). Sooroo, Senafie, Goongoona, Addigerat and Ashangi all feature in the route recorded in the Abyssinia album.

Biographical / Historical

The commentary on the reverse of several of the images (Nos. 1, 3, 5 & 21) provides reference to the military campaign and therefore compelling evidence in support of an attribution to the Royal Engineers. The images in the Abyssinia Campaign album are well-documented but no reference to the stereoscopic images has been found. The stereoviews are important, not only for their content but also for the early use of stereoscopic equipment in Africa; they may well be the earliest stereoviews of Abyssinia.