Zanzibar, 1908-1910

Record Group — Carton: 75

Identifier: 75

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

One folio (38 x 28 cm.), containing numerous postcards, press clippings, original photographs, menus, leaflets, business cards and autographs, plus three loose photographs of the Sultan of Zanzibar with British officials (two of the loose photographs split, now repaired); original blue cloth boards, rebacked, ‘Zanzibar’ blocked in gilt on spine. The scrapbook contains considerable memorabilia collected by Mrs. Clarke, some from the Chukwani Palace, including a place setting card for dinner with the Sultan.

Dates

1908-1910

Creator

Milman, Lena (Person)

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

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

Biographical Notes

Mrs. Clarke’s husband, Edward Ashley Waldrom Clarke (referred to in historic sources as E.A.W. Clarke or A.W. Clarke), was appointed British Agent and Consul General to Zanzibar in 1909. The scrapbook contains memorabilia collected by Mrs. Clarke starting with their marriage in November, 1908 through early 1910. A calling card with her maiden name gives an address in Venice and one in the Tower of London, where her father was the commandant.

Before her marriage, Lena Milman was a translator and author, and corresponded with the author George Moore, among others in the literary world. Her work includes a biography of Christopher Wren (Sir Christopher Wren. London : Duckworth; New York : C. Scribner, 1908) and an English translation of Dostoyevsky's Poor folk (London : E. Mathews and J. Lane; Boston : Roberts Bros., 1894). Several favorable reviews of her biography of Wren appear in the scrapbook.

The Consul General died in Zanzibar in 1913; group 56, volume III contains a photograph of his funeral cortège. Many photographs of the Consul General appear in the group 56 albums, where he is referred to as "E.A.W. Clarke". At least one of the photographs in this album also appears in group 56, and many of the photographs in group 56 volumes I and II and album 75 depict the same events.

Extent

1 album

3 Photographs

Additional Description

Abstract

A scrapbook containing ephemera relating to Zanzibar, 1908-1910. Also included are postcards and other memorabilia from the marriage of Lena Milman and Edward Clarke, which took place several months before their departure to Zanzibar, and several loose photographs.

Related Materials

Source: George Moore in transition : letters to T. Fisher Unwin and Lena Milman, 1894-1910. Edited with a commentary by Helmut E. Gerber. Detroit : Wayne State University Press, 1968

Related Material

Winterton Collection of East African photographs, Zanzibar, 1908-1913, volumes I and III (Group 56: Zanzibar and voyage out, 1908-09; and Zanzibar, 1912-13.)

General

The original inventory for the Winterton Collection includes a description of this album that refers to Edward Ashley Walrond Clarke as "E.A. (Eddy) Waldrom Clarke." It should be noted that the name "Walrond" is misspelled as "Waldrom" in several other sources, including newspaper clippings and a passenger list included in this scrapbook. The inventory uses the compound surname "Waldrom (sic) Clarke" but there is no evidence that Walrond was ever used as a surname by Clarke. The nickname "Eddy" referred to in the inventory appears to be an affectionate nickname used only by Mrs. Clarke, but she spells it "Eddie" throughout the scrapbook. It is worth noting that Edward Ashley Walrond Clarke is referred to in several sources published during his lifetime or shortly thereafter as E.A.W. Clarke or A.W. Clarke.