hammock

This photograph is one of a series that was researched as part of the ‘Archives, Histories, Landscapes: Surveying Sierra Leone’s Cultural Memoryscape’ project funded by the British Academy and led by Paul Basu at University College London. It was taken during the Anglo-French Boundary Commission of 1891-92, which sought to determine the boundary between French Guinea and what would become the British Protectorate of Sierra Leone. The British contingent was led by Captain A. H. Kenney of the Royal Engineers. Other members of the British expedition included Surgeon Major J. J. Lamprey, the botanist G. F. Scott-Elliot, three non-commissioned officers of the Royal Engineers (Sergeant Gibson, 2nd Corporal McGregor and Lance-Corporal Lines), and a Sierra Leonean interpreter named Mahmadu Wakka. They were escorted by a troop of the Frontier Police under the command of Captain Campbell. During the expedition Scott-Elliot collected around 2,000 botanical specimens for Kew Herbarium and prepared a parliamentary report on his findings. Due to disagreements between the French and British parties, the Boundary Commission itself was not successful and was abandoned by the French Commissioners. A second, more successful Anglo-French Boundary Commission was organised in 1895-96, which demarcated much of the existing boundary between Guinea and Sierra Leone. At the time of the 1891-92 expedition, the region was being destabilised not only by the expansion of British and French colonial interests, but also by the aggressive tactics of Samory Touré’s Sofa army as it fought to maintain the territory of the Wassoulou Empire. Kenney reported that they saw ‘abundant evidence of the devastation wrought by the Sofas when they over-ran the country in 1885’, and as they proceeded further inland there were also signs of more recent conflict. Despite the failure of the Commission, the British contingent continued inland as far as Farana on the banks of the River Niger, and met with the Sofa general Kemo Bilalé at Heremakono before returning to Freetown. The photographs in this album document the progress of the expedition. Although the locations were not written alongside the photographs, they can be identified with varying degrees of accuracy by comparing the dates with the itinerary described in reports prepared by Kenney and Scott-Elliot. On 2 April 1892 the Commission was making its return journey to Freetown and was travelling between Falaba and Kamaninki in present day Koinadugu District, Sierra Leone. The photograph shows the Commission's hammock train. In the middle distance can be seen a large hill top settlement surrounded by cotton trees, probably Bafodia.

Information from Timeframes:

"... Lydia Williams is in the centre, playing the banjo. Seated at the right is her sister, Amy Devereux. The man with the camera is Russell Duncan. The other man's identity is unknown but it is possible he was a member of a group such as the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a troupe of Negro singers and musicians who toured New Zealand in the late 1880s. Photograph taken by Lydia's husband William Williams. "Historical note: "Russell James Duncan (1855-1946) was later to become a well known photographer and historian of Napier."

19th century photographers were skilled at stereoscopic photography and have a lot to teach modern exponents of the art

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Vintage Musicians, and we'd love to have this added to the group! Lovely scene.

A stereo negative must always be reversed, which is finally quite logical.... www.flickr.com/photos/187371730@N02/52263361705/in/datepo... Great stereo!

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