Carte-de-visite of Henry M. Stanley

Yo!!

Corn growing in 19th century Africa?

Vogue Photoshoot.

Rich Whitey lets the kid go barefoot. Guess he does not need shoes. I would feel shame if it were me in this photo.

moustache.

hearhear!

Carte-de-visite of Henry M. Stanley by Smithsonian Institution.

Description: Stanley, a newspaper reporter and tireless self-promoter, was hired by the New York Herald to find the missing Livingstone in 1871, winning himself wealth and reputation.

Creator/Photographer: London Stereoscopic & Photographic Company

Medium: Carte-de-visite

Dimensions: 4 in x 2.5 in

Date: 1872

Persistent URL: http://photography.si.edu/SearchImage.aspx?id=5546

Repository: Smithsonian Institution Libraries

Collection: Russell E. Train Africana Collection - The Russell E. Train Africana Collection includes approximately 2,000 books and an extensive array of manuscripts, photographs, watercolors, sketches, maps, newspaper clippings, artifacts and other ephemera ranging from the late 18th to mid-20th centuries, with a concentration on items relating to early British and American explorers. The famous missionary David Livingstone and journalist Henry Stanley, as well as President Theodore Roosevelt, a renowned conservationist of his time, are well represented with numerous books by and about them, manuscript letters, privately printed materials, dozens of photographs and other ephemera. Some of the published books in the collection are presentation copies autographed by the author, while others have original artwork or engravings.

Gift line: Gift of Russell E. Train

Accession number: SIL28-277-01

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Comments

sakraft1 says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Pith Helmets, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

Mikey29211 says:

Very nice helmet, it's rare to see a foreign service type with a rounded bill.
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

tandyoak says:

Great
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

StanAAngel says:

Great Shot it is Stanley !
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

Juniper Juniper says:

Oh yeah, toooootally not racist.
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

wircolac says:

I guess this is a typical photo of that time, the pose of the conquering white male with a slave child. Horrible!!!
Posted 11 months ago. ( permalink )

Gavin Peterson says:

would he really give a "slave" a gun and let him be in the picture?
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

10%bigger says:

I would guess the kid isn't a slave. Rather, he would be a gun bearer. Gun bearers carried firearms for the hunters while hunting, and would often act as trackers (or most likely backup trackers). They were paid for their services, and often earned a good living in relation to others in the area.
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

Esteban-Roche says:

wow
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

Beyond Teresa says:

quite interesting
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

Bryan of Dursley says:

I read somewhere that rather than Stanley finding Livingstone he was in desparate straights when Livingstone heard of a white man in the area and sent out a party who rescued Stanley.
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

Bryan of Dursley says:

Oh - and as regards the status of the little boy - as the photo was taken in London he had probably never seen Africa and probably spoke with a cockney accent.
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

Smithsonian Libraries says:

Thank you all for commenting on our photo! The boy with Stanley is Kalulu ( d. 1877), identified in literature as Stanley's servant, page, and sometimes adopted child. Although Stanley did bring him back to England with him and educated him, it is doubtful that Kalulu spoke with a cockney accent : )
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

alishaann says:

Gavin Peterson and 10% bigger,

I don't want to start a conversation about the definition of a slave, but I suspect that the gun was not given to the boy, i.e. it did not belong to him. I imagine it was a prop for the photo.

If you want to learn more about how Africans were treated by Stanley and his contemporaries, I suggest you check out "King Leopold's Ghost". I don't know anything about whether gun bearers earned a working wage, but - GENERALLY speaking - the treatment of Africans by colonials was abhorrent and can't be dismissed or glossed over. A quote from King L's Ghost: "Mart Twain...was part of the worldwide movement against slave labor in the Congo, a practice that had taken five to eight million lives." That's roughly equivalent to the Holocaust. Joseph Conrad described Africa in the 1800s as "the vilest scramble for loot that ever disfigured the history of human conscience."
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

Meloearth.com says:

Kalulu is educated in England and still being used to pose for this staged photo? Yes, it does tell some tale.
Posted 9 months ago. ( permalink )

foreignobsessed says:

How weapons got into the hands of African children....
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

princesspaulac says:

Wow.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Topato says:

Alishaan, I don't think anyone here would argue that the boy owned the gun (or anything else, for that matter). Rather, as a servant, one of his duties was that as a gun bearer, as mentioned in a previous comment. While both guns shown are being used as props for this staged photo, the young man probably carried that very gun and others many miles over his life for Mr. Stanley and others.
Historically, it was quite common for a white man to teach a young servant like this to shoot as well. In this photo, both of these guns are likely either single or double barreled rifles. Repeating rifles of large enough caliber to kill dangerous African game ranging from lions to elephants simply did not exist at this time.
Therefore, having a servant (or a few) who knew how to shoot could come in quite handy in life-threatening encounters with wild game.
I agree with your assessment of the treatment of Africans by whites, but will point out that it is a fact that young men like this were often trusted with loaded weapons, just as some African slaves in America (also most often young boys) were trusted to perform similar duties for Southern plantation owners, toting their shotguns and extra ammunition during quail hunts.

p.s. Foreignobesessed, I can't, for the life of me, grasp whether or not your comment is supposed to be sarcastic, racist, or what. Having a servant carry an elephant gun has nothing to do with modern people of any race currently having weapons.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

ARhettE says:

I don't think it is racist. The black person HAS A GUN. And this photo was taken after the Emancipation Proclamation; the boy is not his slave.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

foreignobsessed says:

ARhettE

The Black child may have a gun, but that does not mean he is being treated as an equal. Life right after Emancipation wasn't too grand.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

foreignobsessed says:

Topato:

No, my comment is neither racist nor sarcastic.

I was just wondering, since the White man in the picture seems to be using the Black child as a servant (only a small level above that of slave) why he would allow the child to carry a gun- I see you answered that question (and the reasoning of these White men of the past seems racist to me). While some of these Whites were against slavery, they still felt themselves superior.

How do you think guns ended up in the slums of South America and the slums of Africa? Many of those weapons come from predominately White countries (like USA and Russia)- the arms trade my friend starts in White countries then trickles to to below the equator...and is yet another way to kill off the Black race (not that I support killing). Although sorry I've just gotten into modern times. I'm not saying we can't blame military regimes in Africa, they are partially to blame.

Being White, no of course I know not every White person is racist (I'm not and you're not and majority of flickr is not) but sadly we know some are, and I think we've come a LONG way since the 1800s but there's still progress to make.

PS. Sorry I just got into modern times and I'm a bit blabby today

Look forward to your reply : )
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

foreignobsessed says:

Topato:

Thank you for the history lesson. : ) (no sarcasm)

To me it seems they wanted the Black people to hunt the wild game, so they (Black) would put their lives in danger- and not the Whites as much.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

10%bigger says:

Alishaann - no doubt the treatment of the natives by the colonials was horrible, I only wanted to point out the history behind the use of gun-bearers on hunts.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Topato says:

Foreignobsessed, Thank you for the reply via a comment here. From what I have read, the egos of these European "great white hunters" likely didn't lead to them using servants to kill dangerous game. However, I would bet that on more than one occasion, a servant probably saved the life of Stanley and those like him. They likely were also dispatched to hunt small game for table fare for the white men.

An interesting read is "The Last Ivory Hunter" by Peter Hathaway Capstick. While his behavior might be perceived today as racist by some, he didn't see it that way. He writes "...They weren't lesser people, of course--just different from their white fellow countrymen when it came to way of life and values. Much in the way that a Japanese businessman differs from a Finn in how he views the world and what he considers important".

In this book, which can be found in it's entirety on Google, the author also speaks of the salary which he paid his head gun-bearer, who left after being given a raise after 20 years of employment. The "bush logic" this man used told him that if he received a raise, it must have mean that he had been worth the greater amount for his previous years of employment, and he was upset that he had not been paid his full worth from day one.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

foreignobsessed says:

Interesting. I LOVE to read so I'll take a look at that book some time. : )
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Island-Life says:

I see evil and corruption when I look at that "white man"... :(
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

refreshment_66 says:

Not sure of the utility of discussing if the photo is racist or not. It's a portrait taken from the 19th century. No doubt racism was rife at that time.

Exhibiting a photo of an individual who might or might not be a racist, is not in and of itself, a racist act.
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Nix Sands says:

Find out the facts, then comment. That's how it works...right?

Amazing photo!
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

HENRy..1 says:

Hola Soy Henry y me gusta mucho esta fotografia.
Esta muy bien restaurada.
Y el significado de la foto es muy a lo colono ingles
Tank You
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

Enric Martinez says:

Well, the interest of this picture is obviously historic. It's of course not a racist act, the same as publihing pictures of Heinrich Himmler is not a Nazi act. At least that's what Captain Obvious would say ;)
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

dorian-grey says:

amazing photo--like a time machine--and i have not read all the comments but i can assume that there will be comments about the young black boy--well we have come along way in history--since the settling of america--we can say what we feel and think--about many things--but i know only this--that we all have a very quick life and its over--and life will continue onwards long after we are gone--God willing with the tension in north korea and all the other crazy things that are going on in america and the world--so whatever you choose to do with your life--make it count for something at least
Posted 7 months ago. ( permalink )

<To§ia$> says:

krass
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

johncurtisrea says:

"Mr. Livingston I presume" . . .
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

July Miranda [deleted] says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called ALL!!!!!!!!, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

hosehead78 says:

Blasted @JohnCurtisrea, I was reading and notice no one has said that. I shake my fist at you!

Good Call though!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

johncurtisrea says:

@hosehead78 - It just seemed so obvious.

& it won't be the first time I had a fist shaken at me either. Ha!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Lú_ says:

Happy Commonsversary, from Indicommons!

Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

Mareva90 says:

Terrific shot !! Have a great week !
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

Monroe10 says:

I thought this was about the excellent photo and not a history
lesson. Besides history seems to repeat itself all the time, just in different circumstances and situations. Not good.
Posted 5 months ago. ( permalink )

ihynz7 says:

it's wonderful to put the names with faces - colonialism and slavery look appalling with hindsight, but that shouldn't obscure the merits of excellent historical photographs - who knows what we take for granted now that will outrage future generations? wasting fresh water on washing cars? how about cars, period?
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

Rene 69 says:

great shot
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

gerel2 says:

Hunter... great shot
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

digital kid2007 says:

Great historical image and perhaps a little insight into Africa's plight and legacy.
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

book-a-date-with-heidi [deleted] says:

Unique
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

llvllajid Hamed Haghdoust says:

so great
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

Hudson S. says:

i love this, very cool.
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

jyotsnapathania says:

its a class apart--missing and found and treasured
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

ajay's visual~panorama* says:

Great archive, astounding image.
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

GEORGE BONNEVILLE says:

Very cool!
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

ilaruz says:

beautiful picture - i love old picture...
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

Smithsonian Photography Initiative says:

See a blog post about this photo here:
blog.photography.si.edu/2009/08/26/photos-gun s-africa/
Posted 3 months ago. ( permalink )

Radianman says:

Cockney accent! Thank you for that Bryan of Dursley! Of course they had to dress him in his 'native' attire.
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

Дeema <\3 ="( says:

ѕό ήίсз ρίс..

яάω3ά..

ќәәρ ίт цρ

cόммзήt мe plz
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

Ivan < Georeferred Pictures! > says:

Really cool! It's very nice the Smithsonian share its registry here!
Posted 2 months ago. ( permalink )

shirlanka says:

estas fotos son admirables, nos muestran no solo otra epoca, sino otra manera de pensar, que, sin ella, no tendriamos la gran parte de las ideologias que hacen interesante nuestra propia epoca y nuestra sociedad.

si bien, muestra las ideas predominantes de la epoca victoriana, nos enseña el otro factor, el potencial humano para ir mas halla y descubrir los misterios.
Posted 6 weeks ago. ( permalink )

the_hobbit says:

All Hail the conquering hero!
Posted 5 weeks ago. ( permalink )

olga s says:

Interesting shot and interesting discussion!
Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

jgury says:

Re. the Rich Whitey note. I see an ironic equivalence here between the poor shoeless boy and the macho rich fully equipped whitey.
In reality the rich whitey needs the shoeless boy and is essentially in the wrong role in terms of being a true hunter. The great hunter should be the boy and the shoeless servant should be Stanley.
Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

Topato says:

jgury, I think you're looking at a mutually beneficial relationship depicted in this photo. Without the white man, there wouldn't be any guns in the photo. I also wouldn't assume the boy is poor. To do so is applying modern day standards to a different time period. He could quite likely be more affluent than many of his countrymen, considering he is employed, and not just living a subsistence lifestyle.
Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

jgury says:

Well if we look at the North and South American experience for comparison of these mutually beneficial native relations at least the African kid's relatives were more likely to have survived annihilation and maybe retained some land and political power. Thanks for the gun there Bwana.
Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

miguel y su lambretta says:

nice shot
Posted 3 weeks ago. ( permalink )

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Carte-de-visite of Henry M. Stanley

Comments

sakraft1 says:

Mikey29211 says:

tandyoak says:

StanAAngel says:

Juniper Juniper says:

wircolac says:

Gavin Peterson says:

10%bigger says:

Esteban-Roche says:

Beyond Teresa says:

Bryan of Dursley says:

Bryan of Dursley says:

Smithsonian Libraries says:

alishaann says:

Meloearth.com says:

foreignobsessed says:

princesspaulac says:

Topato says:

ARhettE says:

foreignobsessed says:

foreignobsessed says:

foreignobsessed says:

10%bigger says:

Topato says:

foreignobsessed says:

Island-Life says:

refreshment_66 says:

Nix Sands says:

HENRy..1 says:

Enric Martinez says:

dorian-grey says:

<To§ia$> says:

johncurtisrea says:

July Miranda [deleted] says:

hosehead78 says:

johncurtisrea says:

Lú_ says:

Mareva90 says:

Monroe10 says:

ihynz7 says:

Rene 69 says:

gerel2 says:

digital kid2007 says:

book-a-date-with-heidi [deleted] says:

llvllajid Hamed Haghdoust says:

Hudson S. says:

jyotsnapathania says:

ajay's visual~panorama* says:

GEORGE BONNEVILLE says:

ilaruz says:

Smithsonian Photography Initiative says:

Radianman says:

Дeema <\3 ="( says:

Ivan < Georeferred Pictures! > says:

shirlanka says:

the_hobbit says:

olga s says:

jgury says:

Topato says:

jgury says:

miguel y su lambretta says:

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