Manuscript and printed textual material, photographic prints and negatives, slides, audio tapes, film, original and reproduction artwork, maps, scrapbooks, and historical and natural artifacts related to the history of African exploration and natural history, dating primarily from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Includes correspondence, drafts of publications, diaries, account books, ephemera, posters, newsclippings, biographies, memoirs, portraits, and the former personal property of selected explorers, big game hunters, missionaries, pioneers, and naturalists in Africa.
Scope and Contents note:
Manuscript and printed textual material, photographic prints and negatives, slides, audio tapes, film, original and reproduction artwork, maps, scrapbooks, and historical and natural artifacts related to the history of African exploration and natural history, dating primarily from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Includes correspondence, drafts of publications, diaries, account books, ephemera, posters, newsclippings, biographies, memoirs, portraits, and the former personal property of selected explorers, big game hunters, missionaries, pioneers, and naturalists in Africa. The Train Collection is particularly strong in archival materials on the following topics: the search for the source of the Nile and the progress of other exploring expeditions in Africa; the collecting of specimens of African animals, plants, and ethnological materials for zoos and museums (including a significant body of correspondence and photographs from the Smithsonian African Expedition in 1909-1910, led by President Theodore Roosevelt); and the growth of the African wildlife conservation movement. Besides Roosevelt, the major persons represented in the Collection include the journalist and explorer Henry Morton Stanley and members of his Emin Pasha Relief Expedition (Thomas Heazle Parke, Robert H. Nelson, James S. Jameson, John Rose Troup, William Bonny, William G. Stairs, Edmund Barttelot, and Arthur J. M. Jephson); the medical missionary Dr. David Livingstone and his father-in-law Robert Moffat; taxidermist Carl Akeley; zoologist Edmund Heller; hunter Frederick Courtenay Selous; artist and adventure writer A. Radclyffe Dugmore; explorers Samuel White Baker, Thomas Baines, Richard Francis Burton and E.J. Glave; anthropologist Paul Belloni du Chaillu; and royal traveler Edward VIII (later Duke of Windsor). Consult the finding aid for more specific information on materials relating to these persons and other people and organizations represented in the Collection.
Arrangement note:
Organized into ten series, primarily based on format or creator: I. Artifacts, 1663-1999; II. Works of Art, 1663-1999; III. Books, 1900-1986; IV. Edmund Heller personal papers, 1875-1939; V. Manuscripts, 1663-1992; VI. Maps, 1878; VII. Newspapers, 1888-1987; VIII. Robert Henry Nelson personal papers, 1795-1912; VIII. Photographs, 1874-1963; IX. Posters and broadsides, 1814-1955; X. Russell E. Train personal papers, 1956-2004.
Separated Materials note:
In addition to these archival and non-book materials, the Smithsonian Institution Libraries acquired more than 1500 printed books as part of the Russell E. Train Collection; these books are listed individually in the SIRIS (Smithsonian Institution Research Information System) online catalog.
Provenance:
Originally assembled by the Honorable Russell E. Train, a former judge, top administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and a past president of the World Wildlife Fund, this collection was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution Libraries in 2004.
Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Topic:
Zoological specimens -- Collection and preservation -- Africa Search this
Livingstone, David, 1813-1873. 7 autograph letters including an Autograph letter signed to "My dear brother in the Lord" Mr. John Naismith Sr. of Hamilton, Lanarkshire
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 7.75 x 12.75 in.)
Container:
Item M081
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1841 December 2
Scope and Contents note:
7 autograph letters by David Livingstone include: an ALS to "My dear brother in the Lord" Mr. John Naismith Sr. of Hamilton, Lanarkshire], dated Kuruman 2 December 1841 (4 pages; Clendennen & Cunningham #38). Written on his return from his first journey into the interior and reporting on what he termed as "the land of the Shadow of Death". It includes a description of a tribe which has not seen a white man before.
General note:
With address panel. This letter is among the first twenty recorded from Livingstone on his arrival in Africa.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
7 Items (Correspondence, 33 x 20 cm)
Container:
Item M082
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1845 May 28
Scope and Contents note:
Livingstone recounts his experience with and recovery from a lion attack that left him with eleven ugly gashes and a shattered humerus. He describes the mission that he has established at Mabotsa, and asks Hayward to send him a copy of the Lancet or a newspaper sometime. Some persons or tribes named in the letter include Hancock, Houston, Mosilikatse, and Bamangwato.
General note:
Page 4 of the letter functioned as a self-envelope, addressed to Mr. Hayward (at various London-area locations handwritten and crossed-through: Ramsgate, Paddington, Bayswater); sent via a Liverpool ship, postmarked 21 No[vember] 1845; sent care of Rev'd Dr. Philip, Cape Town
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 23 x 19 cm)
Container:
Item M083
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1847 August 9
Scope and Contents note:
Livingstone expresses concern for Fairbrother's afflictions. He mentions his lion attack. He describes the mission that he is setting up next to Kolobeng stream, and how his family has been doing. Some persons or tribes named in the letter include Mrs. Pyne; Mr. Edwards; Mosilikatse; Sewell; the Bakaa tribe; the Makalaka tribe; the Bakhatla tribe; the Bakwains tribe. Places mentioned include the valley of Mosega; Mabotsa; Kuruman; Lattakoo; Chonnane; and Kolobeng stream.
General note:
Page 4 of the letter functioned as a self-envelope, addressed to Rev. W. Fairbrother, care of Benjamin Pyne esq[ui]re, North Weald, Essex. "Care of Dr. Philip, Cape Town" has been crossed through. Sent via ship, postmarked May 9, 1848.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 4.5 x 7 in.)
Container:
Item M084
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1858 January 28
Scope and Contents note:
Autograph letter signed to [John Kirk], dated Manchester 28 January 1858 (4 pages; Clendennen & Cunningham #679). Discusses arrangements for the Zambesi expedition, the advance in salary that Kirk might require, gives the dates when his equipment must be ready and emphasizes the limitations of luggage space.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 4.25 x 7 in.)
Container:
Item M085
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1858 February 17
Scope and Contents note:
Autograph letter signed to E. Watts, dated 18 Hart Street, London, 17 February 1858 (2 pages; Clendennen & Cunningham #723.1). Thanks Watts for his kind suggestion with regard to the Zambezi expedition and promising to bear it in mind as "the choice is very cheap on the Zambezi."
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 33 cm)
Container:
Item M086
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1858 July 21
Scope and Contents note:
Livingstone describes his arrival at Mazaro on the Zambezi River, where he saw a number of headless, mutilated bodies lying around, amidst a crowd of natives and Portuguese. There was shooting in the vicinity. The governor was ailing. Livingstone counsels Kirk to have patience about getting supplies, and suggests that the Portuguese could be of help if not distracted by war. Some persons named in the letter include the Commandant of Tete; Colonel Nuñez; Baines; and Lt. Azeredo. Places or tribes mentioned include Mazaro; Shupanga; Landeen; and Senna.
General note:
Accompanied by a typed transcript inserted in the same volume.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 8 x 12.75 in.)
Container:
Item M087
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1859 August 6
Scope and Contents note:
Autograph letter signed to "My dear sir" [Edward Marjoribanks], dated River Zambesi 6 August 1859 (4 pages; Clendennen & Cunningham #926).
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Livingstone, David, 1813-1873. Autograph letter signed to John Kirk, from Shupanga, Mozambique, and a fragment to an unidentified recipient, probably Kirk
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 15 x 24 cm)
Container:
Item M088
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1859
Scope and Contents note:
One complete autograph letter written by Livingstone to John Kirk, dated November 6, 1859, and an undated fragment of a second letter from Livingstone (signed on two different pages, so this might possibly be fragments of two letters, presumably also to Kirk). In the November 6, 1859 letter Livingstone explains that he was unable to wait for Kirk's arrival because of his leaky boat. He discusses the need to get provisions for the crew, and payments for laborers. In the fragmentary letter[s], Livingtone asks to have a camel sent to him loaded with rice, and payment for sheep and goats and for laborers. He also seeks a man-of-war ship. Persons named in the letters include: Mr. Thornton; Admiral Washington; Tito; Bandeira; Vianna; Sr. Manoel; Sr. Galdino; Ali; Mabruk; and Col. Nunes. Places named include Qullimane; Kongone; Zanzibar; and Mozambique.
General note:
Accompanied by typed transcripts for both letters, inserted in the same volume.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 27 x 43 cm)
Container:
Item M089
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1860 August 10
Scope and Contents note:
Livingstone describes the progress of his expedition's march to the vicinity of Victoria Falls, and notes that various members have been suffering from fever. He describes the Zambezi River Valley, problems with hippopotamuses, the cultivation of cotton, and the presence of Tette and west coast slave traders in the area. Some persons named in the letter include Commodore Owen; Mr. and Mrs. Helmore; Mr. Baldwin from Natal; Joseph Arend from Kuruman; the headman of the Makololo; Sekeletu; George Cathcart; and Moshesh.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Livingstone, David, 1813-1873. Autograph letter signed to "My dear sir" to Sir Richard Southey, Colonial Secretary of the Cape of Good Hope, from "River) Zambezi"
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 5 x 8.25 in.)
Container:
Item M090
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1862 March 4
Scope and Contents note:
Autograph letter signed to "My dear sir" [Sir Richard Southey], dated R. Zambesi 4 March 1862 (4 pages; not in Clendennen & Cunningham). Thanking him on behalf of his wife and himself for the letters and newspapers, reporting on the mules and his progress, or lack of it, up the Zambezi, and making disparaging remarks about the "Ladies" accompanying the Expedition. "There is no doubt but ladies would be great boon to the mission if they were strong as Mrs. Burrup appears to be, but Miss Mackenzie is a peculiar case and I have my fears ..."
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 5 x 7 in.)
Container:
Item M091
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1863 May 1
Scope and Contents note:
Autograph letter signed (fragment) to an unidentified recipient, dated 1 May 1853, probably written from near Linyanti (1 page). Contains instructions for supplies to be purchased at Quilimane including iron bars.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 5 x 8 in.)
Container:
Item M092a
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1863 July 7
Scope and Contents note:
Livingstone explains to Mills that he is not available to be examined by the committee now sitting.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence)
Container:
Item M092b
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents note:
Written during the Zambesi Expedition. Livingstone promises that Kirk will give him news of "your paraffin candles." Pays tribute to Young for his financial support and states that Kirk is a "capital fellow."
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
2 Items (Correspondence, 29 cm)
Container:
Item M094
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1865
Scope and Contents note:
Two autograph letters written by Livingstone during his stay in England. Livingstone's letter to John Kirk ([4] pages on 1 sheet), written at Newstead Abbey, 28 February 1865, discusses Kirk's draft paper on dye-stuff (probably "On a new dye-wood of the genus Cudranea, from tropical Africa," which was published in the Journal of the Linnean Society: Botany, volume 9 (1867), pages 229-230), and also makes reference to the Tories in Parliament and the debate over the Zanzibar territory. Persons mentioned in the letter to Kirk include Dr. Watson; Mr. Murray; Pine; Lord Stanley; Mr. Hall; Burton; and the Sultan of Zanzibar. Livingstone's letter to Arthur Mills ([4] pages on 1 sheet), written from 8 Dover Street, Piccadilly, 12 May 1865, mentions the prospect of being examined by the Committee (probably the Select Committee on West African Settlements?), against Burton's assertions, and re-confirms Livingstone's convictions on the value of having missions and missionaries in Africa, including Sierra Leone and Luanda.
General note:
Accompanied by typed transcripts for both letters, inserted in the same volume.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 9.5 x 12.75 x 0.5 in.)
Container:
Item M094bis
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1865 May 12
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Correspondence, 5 x 8 in.)
Container:
Item M097
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
undated
Scope and Contents note:
Autograph letter signed (fragment), date and place unidentified, commenting on a letter by R. Burton published in the Times (4 pages; accession number M97). Comments on a letter from Richard Burton, as published in The Times, which is critical of him. "I abandoned exploration almost entirely in order to devote all my energies to opening up a channel for lawful commerce with the interior in order merely to stop the slave trade ..."
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Russell E. Train Africana Collection (Smithsonian. Libraries) Search this
Extent:
1 Item (Artifacts (object genre), 3.25 x 2.75 in.)
Container:
Item A002
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
1841-1999
Summary:
Cup with a portrait of David Livingstone and the legend "A Present from Blantyre" (misspelled "Blantgre"), his place of birth in Scotland. Very few contemporary ceramic items commemorating the explorations of Dr. Livingstone are known to have survived or to have been manufactured. None were displayed in the major exhibition on his life and times at the National Portrait Gallery, London, 1996.
Collection Rights:
The collection is housed in the Joseph F. Cullman 3rd Library of Natural History, which is open to researchers Monday through Friday in the afternoons, from 1:30 to 5:00 p.m.; morning visits are by appointment only. Please call (202) 633-1184 or email AskaLibrarian@si.edu for an appointment.
Ten-bore half stocked percussion shot and ball gun, made for the African trade, with the stock extended and native repairs with shrunken leather, and native brass wire. Manufactured by Hollis and Sons, approximately 1860
