Skip to main content Smithsonian Institution

Online Media

Catalog Data

Photographer:
Rausch, William, 1862-1900  Search this
Extent:
1 Photograph album (Photographic album, silver gelatin or collodion prints, H x W x D: 49.53 x 35.56 x 10.16 cm (19 1/2 x 14 x 4 in.) )
300 Gelatin silver prints (Inside album, Contemporary half morocco, oblong folio, silver gelatin or collodion prints , 155 x 205 mm (6.1 x 8.07 in. ); 290 x 370 mm (11.4 x 14.5 in.); or smaller)
Culture:
Ndebele (Matabele)  Search this
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photograph albums
Gelatin silver prints
Photographs
Place:
Bulawayo
Date:
c. 1896-1900
Content Description:
Oversize photographic album of approximately 300 photographic views and scenes of Rhodesia (Zimbabwe), silver gelatin or collodion prints, mostly mounted 4 images per page recto and verso on card sheets, mostly all signed and captioned in the negative. Photographs by William Rausch of Bulawayo, including images of daily life, landscapes, ancient ruins, dams and rail construction, mining and trading in Rhodesia and preparations of troops involved in the Second Matabele War (c. 1896). The album contains rare images of the ruins of Great Zimbabwe before it was excavated.
Biographical / Historical:
William Rausch was born in Cape Colony, South Africa in 1862. His earliest photos date from 1895, after he moved to Bulawayo and established himself as a photographer. He is one of four photographers listed in Matabeleland during this time: C. Hines, C. H. Newberry, J. Parkin, and W. Rausch. Rausch died of pneumonia at Memorial Hospital on 24 September, 1900. H. A. de Beers was appointed as executor and his estate was finalised 24 January 1901. Rausch took these photographs between 1896 – 1900 during the 'Scramble for Africa' when European nations were vying for control of the continent and its resources. In Southern Africa, Cecil John Rhodes, a British businessman, mining magnate (De Beers diamond company) and Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (1890 – 1896) was establishing British control in Rhodesia (the region now known as Zimbabwe), which was named after him. The photos by Rausch captured the British troops fighting in the Second Matabele War, which pitted the British against the local Matabele tribe. In March 1896, the Matabele revolted against the authority of the British South Africa Company, owned by Cecil Rhodes. The Mlimo, spiritual leader of the Ndebele, convinced his people that the 4,000 settlers were responsible for the drought, locust plagues and the cattle disease ravaging the country at the time. Bulawayo came under siege but British troops were sent to defend the major settlements, with war raging on until October 1897. The photographs show British military operations, preparations of troops, high powered artillery, armored engines and trains.
Provenance:
Museum purchase
Restrictions:
Collection is closed until processed. Contact Archives staff for more information.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Topic:
Rhodesia  Search this
Imperialism -- England  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs -- Black-and-white negatives -- Glass -- Collodion -- 19th century
Identifier:
EEPA.2019-008
Archival Repository:
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/xo75a6be6b3-9711-49f0-9635-0d33269e964e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-eepa-2019-008