Africa: Explorations and Expeditions (Exhibition)

Exist Dates

1998 January - 1998 August

Biographical or Historical Note

abstract

Exhibition. Opened February 2, 1998 and closed August 2, 1998. Located on Floor 4 in the Library Gallery. Africa: Explorations and Expeditions featured rare books, field notebooks, diaries, photographs, sketches, artifacts, and specimens illustrating more than 200 years of European, American, and Museum expeditions and discoveries in Africa.

Summary

Africa: Explorations and Expeditions, curated by Roscoe Thompson, assistant director for Reference Services in the Museum Library, featured rare books from the Library, field notebooks, diaries, photographs, sketches, artifacts, and specimens illustrating more than 200 years of European, American, and Museum expeditions and discoveries in Africa (1). Museum expeditions featured in this exhibition included Henry Fairfield Osborn’s Expedition to the Desert of Fayoum, Egypt in 1906, the American Museum Expedition to the Congo (1909-1915), Carl Akeley’s expeditions to East Africa, and the Morden African Expedition (2).

Highlights (1; 2):

*Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile in the Years 1768-1772 by James Bruce

*Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa Performed in the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797 by Mungo Park

*How I Found Livingston (1872) and In Darkest Africa (1890) by Henry Morton Stanley

*10 folio-sized volumes of Description de L’Egypte, published between 1809 and 1828, conceived and directed by Napoleon Bonaparte

*Ivory objects given to Herbert Lang by Chief Okondo during the American Museum Expedition to the Congo (1909-1915)

*A Congo peacock painted by James Chapin during the American Museum Expedition to the Congo (1909-1915)

*Asante gold weights

*Hand-colored prints from 1819 illustrating Asante board game displayed with actual board game

This is a condensed summary of the exhibition. For additional information, see Sources and/or Related Resources.

Sources

(1) Kramer, Linda. “Off the Beaten Track: Africa: Explorations and Expeditions.” Rotunda (January 1998)

(2) “Africa: Explorations and Expeditions.” Rotunda (April 1998)

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Related Corporate, Personal, and Family Names

Akeley Expedition to British East Africa (1909-1911)
Materials featured in exhibition (2)

Akeley, Carl Ethan 1864-1926
Led expeditions featured in exhibition (1)

Akeley-Eastman-Pomeroy African Hall Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History (1926)
Materials featured in exhibition (2)

American Museum of Natural History. Department of Library Services.
Related department (1; 2)

American Museum of Natural History. Library Gallery
1998 January – 1998 August (1; 2)

Bruce, James, 1730-1794
Author of Travels to Discover the Source of the Nile in the Years 1768-1772, featured in exhibition (1)

Chapin, James Paul 1889-1964
Led American Museum Expedition to the Congo (1909-1915) featured in exhibition (1)

Expedition to the Desert of Fayoum, Egypt
Materials featured in exhibition (2)

Lang, Herbert 1879-1957
Led American Museum Expedition to the Congo (1909-1915) featured in exhibition (1)

Morden African Expedition of the American Museum of Natural History (1947)
Materials featured in exhibition (2)

Morden, William James 1886-1958
Led Morden African Expedition featured in exhibition; however, Rotunda article refers to “John Morden” as the leader of that expedition (2)

Osborn, Henry Fairfield 1857-1935
Led Expedition to the Desert of Fayoum, Egypt featured in exhibition (1)

Park, Mungo, 1771-1806
Author of Travels in the Interior Districts of Africa Performed in the Years 1795, 1796, and 1797, featured in exhibition (1)

Stanley, Henry M. (Henry Morton), 1841-1904
Author of How I Found Livingston (1872) and In Darkest Africa (1890), featured in exhibition (1)

Thompson, Roscoe A.
Curator of exhibition; assistant director of Reference Services, Museum Department of Library Services (1; 2)

Related Resources

subjectOf

Africa: Exploration and Expedition exhibition photographic slides. American Museum of Natural History Library Special Collections.
Date of resource: 1998; 0.5 Linear Feet (1 box ) 114 Photographic Slides : color ; 35 mm

American Museum of Natural History vertical files
Repository: AMNH Special Collections [photocopies of pages in January and April 1998 issues of Rotunda; black and white photo print]

Description de l'Égypte, ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Égypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française.
Date of resource: 1820-1830

How I found Livingstone: travels, adventures and discoveries in Central Africa: including an account of four months' residence with Dr. Livingstone. By Henry M. Stanley. With maps and illustrations after drawings by the author
Date of resource: 1872

In darkest Africa : or, The quest, rescue and retreat of Emin, governor of Equatoria / Henry M. Stanley ... With one hundred and fifty woodcut illustrations and maps...
Date of resource: 1890

Rotunda.
Kramer, Linda. “Off the Beaten Track: Africa: Explorations and Expeditions.” (January 1998); “Africa: Explorations and Expeditions.” (April 1998)

Travels in the interior districts of Africa : performed in the years 1795, 1796, and 1797. With an account of a subsequent mission to that country in 1805 / By Mungo Park. To which is added, an account of the life of Mr. Park.
Date of resource: 1816

Travels to discover the source of the Nile, in the years 1768, 1769, 1770, 1771, 1772, and 1773. In five volumes. By James Bruce of Kinnaird, Esq. F. R. S.
Date of resource: 1805

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