SIGNED CABINET CARD PHOTOGRAPH OF CHIEF KHAMA III OF BECHUANALAND

A fine Cabinet Card photograph of Chief Khama III, Chief of the Bamangwato of Bechuanaland and grandfather of Sir Seretse Khama, later President of Botswana. Inscribed below the image in a neat script "Chief Khama. Cape Town January 1895". The verso of the card indicates that this is from the City Studio of F.Gow, 3 Shortmarket Street, Cape Town. From the only specimen of Khama's signature that I can find (I have provided a copy of this in the third image above), I am fairly sure that the inscription is that of Khama himself but am unable to provide a guarantee thereof. It would appear to be an extremely scarce signature. 

Both sides of the card are in fine condition. 

Khama III (1837?–1923), referred to by missionaries as Khama the Good also called Khama the Great, was the Kgosi (meaning chief) of the Bangwato tribe. He was the grandfather of Seretse Khama. 

From a Wikipedia precis of the long and active life of this important African figure, here is a short extract: "Khama became king in 1875, after overthrowing his father Sekgoma and elbowing away his brother Kgamane his ascension came at a time of great dangers and opportunities. Ndebele incursions from the north (from what is now Zimbabwe), Boer and "mixed" trekkers from the south, and German colonialists from the West, all hoping to the seize his territory and its hinterlands. He answered these challenges by aligning his state with the administrative aims of the British, which provided him with cover and support, and, relatedly, by energetically expanding his own control over a much wider area than any "kgosi" before him. Khama converted to Christianity, which moved him to criminalize sectarianism and to deprecate the institutions favored by traditionalists. At Khama's request stringent laws were passed against the importation of alcohol."