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Finding Aids to Official Records of the Smithsonian Institution Archives

Accession 06-093

Smithsonian African Expedition (1909-1910)

Lantern Slides from the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition, circa 1909-1910, 1989

Repository:Smithsonian Institution Archives, Washington, D.C. Contact us at osiaref@si.edu.
Creator:Smithsonian African Expedition (1909-1910)
Title:Lantern Slides from the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition
Dates:circa 1909-1910, 1989
Quantity:0.5 cu. ft. (1 document box)
Collection:Accession 06-093
Language of Materials:English
Summary:

This accession consists of eight hand colored glass lantern slides from the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition. Also included are black-and-white prints made of the lantern slides by Smithsonian Photographic Services (SPS) in 1989. On June 20, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote to Charles D. Walcott, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution concerning Roosevelt's proposed trip to Africa. Roosevelt offered to take two naturalist-taxidermists selected by the United States National Museum for the purpose of caring for specimens that might be acquired. The offer was accepted and eventually three naturalists were chosen to accompany the expedition. Edgar Alexander Mearns was selected as head naturalist and bird-collector, Edmund Heller was to care for the large mammals and John Alden Loring was to have charge of the small mammal collecting. The party left New York on March 23, 1909 and sailed for British East Africa, arriving on April 21. From there, the expedition traveled by the Uganda Railway to Kapiti Plains where their safari awaited them. The party followed a route that took them to Nairobi, the vicinity of Mt. Kenja, the Loita Plains, Lake Victoria, Lake Albert and up the Nile to Khartoum. The expedition broke up there on March 14, 1910. The official photographer for the expedition was Roosevelt's son Kermit Roosevelt, although other members of the party also took a number of photographs, especially Edmund Heller.

Historical Note

On June 20, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt wrote to Charles D. Walcott, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution concerning Roosevelt's proposed trip to Africa. Roosevelt offered to take two naturalist-taxidermists selected by the United States National Museum for the purpose of caring for specimens that might be acquired. The offer was accepted and eventually three naturalists were chosen to accompany the expedition. Edgar Alexander Mearns was selected as head naturalist and bird-collector, Edmund Heller was to care for the large mammals and John Alden Loring was to have charge of the small mammal collecting.

The party left New York on March 23, 1909 and sailed for British East Africa, arriving on April 21. From there, the expedition traveled by the Uganda Railway to Kapiti Plains where their safari awaited them. The party followed a route that took them to Nairobi, the vicinity of Mt. Kenja, the Loita Plains, Lake Victoria, Lake Albert and up the Nile to Khartoum. The expedition broke up there on March 14, 1910.

The official photographer for the expedition was Roosevelt's son Kermit Roosevelt, although other members of the party also took a number of photographs, especially Edmund Heller.

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Descriptive Entry

This accession consists of eight hand-colored glass lantern slides from the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition. It is unclear as to who the photographer was. Also included are black-and-white prints made of the lantern slides by Smithsonian Photographic Services (SPS) in 1989.

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This collection is indexed under the following access terms. These are links to collections with related topics, persons or places.

Name

Subject

Physical Characteristics of Materials in the Collection

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Preferred Citation

Smithsonian Institution Archives, Accession 06-093, Smithsonian African Expedition (1909-1910), Lantern Slides from the Smithsonian-Roosevelt African Expedition

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Container List

Box 1

Hand-colored Glass Lantern Slides #89-8581 and #89-8582

Hand-colored Glass Lantern Slides #89-8581 and #89-8582
Box 1 of 1

Hand-colored Glass Lantern Slides #89-8583 and #89-8584

Hand-colored Glass Lantern Slides #89-8583 and #89-8584
Box 1 of 1

Hand-colored Glass Lantern Slides #89-8585 and #89-8586

Hand-colored Glass Lantern Slides #89-8585 and #89-8586
Box 1 of 1

Hand-colored Glass Lantern Slides #89-8587 and #89-8588

Hand-colored Glass Lantern Slides #89-8587 and #89-8588
Box 1 of 1

Prints

Box 1 of 1

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