THE OCCUPATION OF MASHONALAND

This Item Ship from The USA

Fry (W. Ellerton)

154 (of 155) original photographs, being the official record of the Pioneer Column entering and settling Rhodesia in 1890.  Mounted on stiff cardboard leaves

These photos were from a copy of the book/album THE OCCUPATION OF MASHONALAND that Fry published 1891.  The book cover was is such a terrible condition and beyond any means of repair or recovery that we extracted the photos as stand alone items.  Where possible we have left the original descriptions printed with the photos.

The original number of these books is not known, they were large, heavy tomes and would have required special shipping.    Research suggest as maximum of about 25.  (Though there one suggestion there were as many as 35.)

Louis Bolze, the publisher of the facsimile edition of this volume, located 13 copies of first edition of The Occupation of Mashonaland (1891) in Southern African libraries and it may be assumed that there are other copies in major libraries in Britain and elsewhere as well as a number in private hands but in any case the edition must have been very small. Since we have 2 of them (including this one), that leaves very few remaining

The photographs taken by Lieut. W. Ellerton Fry, who was a member of the Pioneer Column, record the occupation of Mashonaland by the Pioneer Corps and its British South African Police escort which ended at Fort Salisbury on 12th September, 1890. The photographs cover the formation, training and progress of the Column.

Great Zimbabwe is shown in a very overgrown state in a number of photographs.

At the time of his enlistment into the Pioneer Expedition Fry was Secretary and Computer at the Royal Astronomical Observatory in Cape Town. He was recruited by F.C. Selous and was given the rank of Lieutenant and the post of Intelligence Officer. He was also given charge of the steam engine and searchlight and was made the official photographer & cartographer (his 2 page map of the journey was filed with the National Geographical Society in 1893.)

Fry professed to be very much an amateur photographer but his images show an artistic eye and fine grasp of the medium. He processed his plates under great difficulty whilst on the march.

The photos have aged extremely well giving testimony Fry's skills in the dark room.