The collection dates from 1678 to circa 2005 and consists of 58 maps, engravings, posters, original documents and photographs related to East, Central and South Africa. There is a special focus on Ethiopia (Abyssinia), Tanzania and the Sudan, and the collection's subjects include East African geography, history, political affairs and African leaders, as well as European (German, Italian, British) and American colonization, exploration and warfare in Africa.
Scope and Contents:
The collection consists of 58 maps, engravings, particularly satirical comics, posters, original documents and photographs related to East, Central and South Africa. There is a special focus on Ethiopia (Abyssinia), Tanzania and the Sudan, and the collection's subjects include East African geography, history, political affairs and African leaders, as well as European (German, Italian, British) and American colonization, exploration and warfare in Africa. A number of engravings feature Benito Mussolini, Menelik, and the first Italian-Ethiopian War of 1895-1896. Additionally, there is a photograph of Haile Selassie. Many of the chromolithographs appeared in popular publications in England, France and the U.S., including Punch, or The London Chariviari, The London Illustrated News, The Graphic, and Le Petit Journal during the late 19th – early 20th century.
There are a few ephemeral items related to travel and transportation in Africa, including African Steamship travel tickets, menus and a Uganda railway poster. Other items are related to exploration, hunting and safaris, including original sketches and engravings of motor safari camps in East Africa.
Arrangement:
Arranged in one series by medium.
Biographical / Historical:
Thomas P. Ofcansky (1947-) is a former African affairs analyst with the State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research, and a retired professor of political science from the University of West Virginia. In the 1990s, he developed a detailed database that tracked the suppliers and shipments of small arms to Africa (PBS/Frontline interview, February, 2002). Ofcansky is the author of numerous publications including Uganda: Tarnished Pearl of Africa (1999), Paradise Lost: A History of Game Preservation in East Africa (2002), and has co-authored numerous volumes in the Historical Dictionary of Africa series and Ethiopia: A Country Study (1993–2014).
Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Genre/Form:
Engravings
Letters
Posters
Pamphlets
Sheet music
Certificates
Photographic prints
Citation:
Thomas Ofcansky Collection, EEPA 2015-012, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution
Printed caption on recto reads: "241. Afrique Occidentale - Haute-Guinée - La Colonisation sur les bords du Niger; La ferme Poiren à Iri-Kiri."
Translated caption reads: "241. West Africa - Upper-Guinea - Colonization on the banks of the Niger; Poirey farm in Iri-Kiri."
Additional printed text on recto reads: "Collection Générale Fortier, Dakar."
Local Numbers:
EEPA GV-07-01
General:
Title source: Postcard caption.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Original caption reads, "Madagascar - Colonial residence on the Coast." Postmarked and stamped on recto, "Saint Die, 26 -1 1907."
Additional printed text on recto reads: "Collect. S. (Déposé)"
Original hand-written address on verso, "Mr and Mrs Bourquetin Mail Clerks St. Dié Vosges France."
Original hand-written text on recto, "I can't wait for the mail which will bring me the news which I am ecpecting a long letter will follow. A good kiss."
Local Numbers:
EEPA MG-30-38
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Original caption reads, "Mananjary - At the Customs. Departure of a Colonial for France."
Additional printed text on recto reads: "Edition de la Maison P. Ghigiasso, librairie, articles de ménage, Tamatave."
Local Numbers:
EEPA MG-47-48
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Translated caption reads: ''French Congo. Mr. Ferrière's Rubber Plantation, settler on the Léfini''. In the foreground, rubber trunks and workers in the background. Recto upper right side reads: [LOUKOLE]. Recto upper left side reads: [Amitiés. Signature]. Translated recto upper left side: ''Friendship. Signature not readable.'' Verso address reads: ''M. Klemken - Vésoul - France''. Congo Français. Photograph by J. Audema
Local Numbers:
Audema 0298
General:
Title source: Postcard caption.
Image indexed by negative number.
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
