Album containing 22 photographs, each 85 x 140mm, mounted on stiff card leaves and tied with green thread gathered in stiff cloth covers with gilt titling. The cloth is insect scared - see photographs.
The photographs detail the voyage of General Botha, Prime Minister of South Africa, and his delegation en route to Europe to attend the Paris Peace Conference upon the conclusion of World War I (1914-1918).
The "Botha Party" aboard the Iyo Maru was a small, high-level delegation consisting of family members, military staff, and political advisers. Because this was a state mission to the Paris Peace Conference, every person on board played a specific role in supporting the Prime Minister’s diplomatic efforts.
It included his wife Mrs Annie Botha, his son Captain Louis Botha, Jr., who served as his Aide-de-Camp (ADC). Military and Strategic Staff including Major-General John Johnston, General (J.J.) Collyer: The Chief of the General Staff for South Africa, Lieutenant-Colonel B.J. (Barry) Roux, Dr. W.E. (Willem) Bok: The Secretary to the Prime Minister and Mr. J.H. (Jan) Davis: Private Secretary to the Prime Minister.
The photographs which are captioned in white ink beneath each one include scenes of Table Bay, boat drill with Botha and Annie, landing at Dakar Harbour, crossing the line ceremonies, groups of the passengers including the Botha family and the Japanese Captain and his officers and a group with the Captain, General Botha and Sir William Hoy, Capt. G. Brebner and Sir David Graaff.
A common misconception is that General Jan Smuts was on this voyage. However, Smuts did not travel with Botha from Cape Town on the Iyo Maru. Smuts had already been in London for some time as a member of the Imperial War Cabinet. He met the Iyo Maru party upon their arrival at Tilbury Docks in December 1918. From that point on, Botha and Smuts worked together as the South African representatives at the Peace Conference
General Collyer describes the voyage in a booklet entitled The Voyage of the 'Iyo Maru' which was a privately published 'souvenir' edition and was not intended for public sale.
The Iyo Maru was a 6,320-ton passenger-cargo ship built at Mitsubishi's Nagasaki Shipyard in 1901. She was operated by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), one of Japan's major shipping lines, and served primarily on the North American route between Japan and Seattle, with stops at ports including Yokohama, Kobe, and Honolulu. The ship had accommodations for 36 first-class passengers, 21 second-class passengers, and 168 third-class (steerage) passengers. She was powered by dual triple-expansion steam engines and could reach speeds of 15.4 knots.
Japan was a British ally during the First World War and The Maru was chartered to transport the official delegation to London. After landing the delegation it departed from London at the end of November carrying members of the South African Native Labour Contingent (SANLC). It struck a mine in the Mediterranean near Port Said and sank. A significant number of the Contingent lost their lives, alongside other passengers.
- Size: Oblong 8vo (185 x 225 mm)
