African Safari

This exciting app will take you back to a time when wildlife freely wandered the deserts, savannahs, forests, and jungles of Africa in mind-blowing numbers. Nineteenth Century European and American exploration and colonization of Africa meant hundreds of big game hunters and wildlife enthusiasts set out for that continent to observe, record, and hunt the amazing fauna found there.

Now BiblioLife has made a breathtaking array of historical artifacts from this golden era of private safaris available digitally. The tactile interface of the iPad’s touch-screen technology makes it possible to easily navigate through high-resolution displays of original books, plates, maps, film footage, photographs, engravings, and illustrations.

You can travel with Theodore Roosevelt through British East Africa, read first hand accounts of the behavior of the wildebeest, look at early film footage of gorillas, see distribution maps for African elephants, or page through hundreds of early photographs of safari outfits, wildlife, and native tribes peoples. You can also find advice (mostly amusing now) on where to go, who to go with, and what to take.

The curators at BiblioLife are dedicated to unearthing, from among the tens of millions of historical artifacts that have been digitized and made available on the web, those materials that are among the most interesting, quirky, important, or just plain weird. So, whether your interests include big game hunting, zoology, conservation of endangered species and their habitats, history, adventure, travel, photography, or anthropology, you will find a wealth of materials here to entertain and inform–all conveniently accessible on your iPad.

With this App you will be able to feed your safari habit while commuting, while sitting in the dentist’s waiting room, or while lying on the beach (wishing you were in Africa). Better yet, take this App with you to Africa when you go…what better way to get the most out of your own African safari!

*****

Abel Chapman traveled with his brother on safari throughout British East Africa during the first decade of the 20th Century. They recorded and ‘took specimens’ of as many species as they could find, as evidence of the “wealth of the Colony.” The brothers Chapman also added considerably to their own wealth. Chapman writes that “one day’s bag…totaled–4 elephants [and] 1 rhinoceros.” This produced 300 pounds of ivory valued at a whopping 200 Pounds sterling (roughly equivalent to $23,000 today).

On Safari is also an illuminating travel diary. In Nairobi, at the outset, Chapman comes down with malaria and a fever of 106. He sees “a medico of sorts, rough though kindly” whose prescription medicine arrives in a beer bottle. Part field guide, part travelogue, this book also makes no bones about extolling British East Africa as “the most glorious hunting-field extant.” As such, it provides invaluable historical insight into the ivory trade and the geographic distribution of endangered species.

This book is part of the African Safari app, available soon, in the BiblioBoard iPad App. Sign up for pre-release, preview access at BiblioBoard.com.

*****

In 1909, two weeks after Taft was inaugurated as his successor to the Presidency of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt embarked on an African safari. Although not written by himself, this book is an account of that safari. Roosevelt was famous for his love of hunting and the outdoors. Here he is surrounded by his African trophies:

Occasionally, Roosevelt chose to travel in rather unorthodox ways:

The Great Roosevelt African Hunt is heavily illustrated with stunning photographs of local tribes, wildlife, and hunting scenes. Although, beware, some of the hunting scenes are graphic.

Ironically, for a book on hunting (with chapter titles such as “The Promising Death Shots”), in the Preface the author expresses the wish to “produce a work on the unfortunately soon extinct wonderful animal world of Africa” and thereby to incite a “love of nature both in young and old.” While the content of the book is utterly fascinating, it is a little difficult to fathom how it fulfills the wishes of the author–it ends up being a rather graphic demonstration of how hunting as a form of ‘loving’ nature leads directly to the extinction the author bemoans…

This book is part of the African Safari app, available soon, in the BiblioBoard iPad App. Sign up for pre-release, preview access at BiblioBoard.com.

*****

Paul du Chaillu (1831-1903) was a French-American traveler and anthropologist who spent much of his childhood in Africa. As an adult, he returned to Africa on two expeditions–the first (in 1855) was funded by the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, PA. Today, du Chaillu is best known for confirming, in the 1860s, the existence of the Pygmy people of Central Africa and for confirming, in the 1850s, the existence of gorillas. European and American scientists had seen gorilla skulls–but never a gorilla. Until du Chaillu’s expeditions, non-Africans’ only account of the existence of gorillas was written by Hanno the Navigator in the 5th century BC… In African Forest and Jungle is an account of some of du Chaillu’s experiences on these expeditions. It is told in a narrative format that reads like the jungle adventure it actually was. The book is heavily illustrated with drawings of wildlife, camp life, and native Africans.

This book is part of the African Safari app, available soon, in the BiblioBoard iPad App. Sign up for pre-release, preview access at BiblioBoard.com.

*****

The book is heavily illustrated and contains maps showing the geographic distribution of the various species. A landmark book that is still fascinating today!

This book is part of the African Safari app, available soon, in the BiblioBoard iPad App. Sign up for pre-release, preview access at BiblioBoard.com.

This is a safari story that is absolutely not to miss! Martin and Osa Johnson (both originally from Kansas) were American adventurers and documentary film makers who sailed from New York city in 1923 with the object of filming “more completely than it had ever been done before, a record of Africa’s fast vanishing wild life.”

The Johnsons ended up making their home in Kenya. The films and photos that they sent back to the States provided many Americans with their first exposure to the distant lands they explored.

Osa and Martin Johnson had such amazing adventures that one can’t help but feel slightly disappointed that similar opportunities for exploration have all but disappeared. Their stories are utterly entertaining, not least for the love and admiration this husband and wife team had for each other.

This book is part of the African Safari app, available soon, in the BiblioBoard iPad App. Sign up for pre-release, preview access at BiblioBoard.com.

*****

 Engagingly written in a diary format, this book begins “in 1910-11 Mrs. White, R.J. Cuninghame, and myself, with a small safari of forty men, took the usual route…” The author, Stewart White, set out on this safari to explore remote parts of German East Africa (present day Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi). His macho writing style is unique; for example, he claims that “soft” men should stick to hunting in British East Africa–that only those willing “to get down to absolute (African) essentials” should attempt hunting in the areas he explores. White considered a small safari of forty men to be the ideal number able to comfortably care for two foreign men. One wonders how large the safaris were of those poor softies who desired “big caravans and all the luxuries”! The section on outfitting is particularly interesting; White details the supplies necessary (e.g. two pairs underwear were considered sufficient). From an anthropological standpoint, The Rediscovered Country is interesting for its many photos and descriptions of the Masai people.

This book is part of the African Safari app, available soon, in the BiblioBoard iPad App. Sign up for pre-release, preview access at BiblioBoard.com.

*****

The Coming of Father Christmas. 

This enchanting 35 page Christmas book tells the story of Father Christmas who, after much anticipation, arrives “at last.” In joy and excitement, the children “dance and whirl in gladness round him.” There is general celebration and goodwill as Father Christmas collects the orphaned, “friendless children” from the city and provides a feast for all. Presents and a telling of the Christmas story follow. All is done in verse which is juxtaposed with illustration in such a way as to make each page a charming Victorian vignette. The Coming of Father Christmas will appeal to both adults and children and is unabashedly full of heartwarming holiday cheer.

This book is part of the British Library Poetry & Drama module, available soon, in the BiblioBoard App.

Billed as “the first attempt that has been made to illustrate at all completely the comic poetry of the day,” Adams’ book contains poems by fifty-seven 19th Century British and American poets. Poems like Jabberwocky and The Walrus and the Carpenter may be familiar; others are likely to be less so. Titles include Lines by a Lunatic M.D., The Spectre Pig, Somebody’s Poodle, Musings on Mummy Paper (mummy paper was supposedly imported to the United States around 1855 and made from linen taken from Egyptian mummies), Salad (“Take endive—like love it is bitter,”) and The Bookworm (“He pokes the dust, he sifts with care, / He searches close and deep; / Proud to discover, here and there, / A treasure in the heap.”)

This book is part of the British Library Poetry & Drama module, available soon, in the BiblioBoard App.

This book contains over 300 pages of epitaphs gleaned from tombstones all over Britain. From touching to hilarious, they express “the character and peculiarities of the deceased, the feelings of surviving friends, reflections on the uncertainty of life, the shortness of time, the duration of eternity, and the value of the soul.” Examples include, “In Memory of Phoebe Hessel, Who was born at Stepney in the year 1713, she served for many years As a private soldier in the 5th Regt. of Foot…She died…December 12th, 1821. Aged 108 years,” or “Of children in all she bore twenty-four/Thank the Lord there will be no more,” or “This disease you ne’er heard tell on, I died of eating too much melon.” The compiler acknowledges that it is surprising so much “nonsense should have been engraved on tombstones,” but suggests the reader remember that “the sublime and the ridiculous are often linked together.”

This book is part of the British Library Poetry & Drama module, available soon, in the BiblioBoard App.

Touted as one of the most popular secular songbooks in the English language, An Antidote against Melancholy contains ballads and songs that were familiar to Shakespeare. This is an 1879 reprint of the earliest extant printed edition which dates to 1661. Chosen for reprint because of its “rarity…excellence…[and] high antiquity,” it contains 23 ballads and songs plus 40 more “merry catches.” Shakespeare used a few of these in his plays; a few others seem to have been inspired by Shakespeare: “Drink off thy sack; twas onely that / Made Bacchus and Jack Falstaff fatt.” Indeed, the number of songs devoted to red noses and the drinking of sack, together with the drawer in one catch who keeps crying “Anon, anon, anon, sir,” inevitably bring to mind Shakespeare’s Henry IV. In the introductory poem, “To The Reader,” N.D. says the book will put “thee in a merry mood” and claims “This does more then Choccolet” (extraordinary claim indeed….) Humorous, bawdy, and celebratory, these songs are still worthy of singing with a raised pint in hand down at your local pub: “Come, come away to the tavern, I say, / For now at home ‘tis washing day: / Leave your prittle prattle, and fill us a pottle; / You are not so wise as Aristotle.”

This book is part of the British Library Poetry & Drama module, available soon, in the BiblioBoard App.

Bermuda in Poetry, 1610-1908. 

Though Bermuda was discovered in 1505 by the Spanish, the uninhabited island was settled by the English in 1609 and is still a British overseas territory today. Its temperate climate, beautiful landscape and reputation for nearby sea disasters make the island an inspiration for authors of all types. To find other interesting books on Bermuda, including many historic books, try the bibliography maintained here:

This book is part of the British Library Poetry & Drama module, available soon, in the BiblioBoard App.

Two visits to the Tea countries of China and the British Tea Plantations in the Himalaya; with a … full description of the culture of the Tea plant, the agriculture, horticulture, and botany of China. 

As Botanical Collector to the Horticultural Society of London, Fortune was sent to China by the East India Company to collect tea-plants and seeds, as well as tea manufacturers’ implements. He later published this account of his “adventures amongst the most remarkable and least-known people in the world, their manners and customs, the natural productions of the country … and, above all, the mode of cultivating and making our favorite beverage, tea.” As suggested in his Preface, Fortune’s book encompasses far more than a study of tea (“a beverage that cheers but not inebriates.”) With a naturalist’s eye, he records his observations on everything from the cultivation of cabbage to the preparation of manure (sometimes involving “night soil”) to the flowers preferred for graves.  His descriptions of Chinese dinners are mouth-watering; Fortune humbly admits that his “maiden efforts with the chopsticks must have been a source of great amusement to [his] Chinese friends.” Foodies, gardeners, and history buffs alike will want this book on their nightstands.

This book is part of the British Library History of Asia module, available soon, in the BiblioBoard App.

The Valley of Kashmir…With Illustrations. 

Lawrence was sent from England as a Settlement Commissioner to Kashmir and Jammu State in the northwestern region of India. Lawrence writes that “the beautiful [Kashmir] valley has been for many years a pleasure resort of Europeans” and yet “strange and hazy ideas have prevailed” regarding the nature of the region and its inhabitants. To help dispel these strange and hazy ideas, Lawrence wrote “this report” in which he deals “with subjects of general interest:” geology, flora, fauna, archaeology, history, statistics, social life, religions, “races and tribes,” agriculture, livestock, industries and occupations, trade, administration, and language. His text is accompanied by excellent photographs such as the one above showing men and women with a kangar (a wicker basket holding an earthenware pot that was filled with embers and placed under clothing for warmth) and a mortar and pestles used for husking rice.

This book is part of the British Library History of Asia module, available soon, in the BiblioBoard App.

The Tourist’s Guide to Hong Kong, with short trips to the Mainland of China. 

By 1897 Hong Kong had been a European Colony for 55 years. This book was written to provide “as much information as possible necessary to the well being and enjoyment of the tourist.” The author calls Hong Kong a “wonderful specimen of Anglo Saxon pluck and energy” having, as he says, “germinated [a colony] on the soiless [sic] surface of a barren rock.” The book offers maps, photographs, a Historical sketch (1625-1896), twelve recommended itineraries on the island, eight short itineraries for the mainland, as well as information and advertisements for everything from how to locate a surgeon-dentist, to tram and steamship schedules and fares, to where to purchase stamps, nautical books, and curios. The author includes a helpful basic vocabulary with all the usual phrases, plus such oddities as “What is that to you?” and “He did it on purpose.”  In addition to the island’s great natural beauty, the author hails it as a place where “representatives of many races” enjoy “that perfect freedom, that true liberty, which for centuries has been the birthright of those, regardless of colour or creed, who elect to reside under the protection of the Union Jack.” For comparison, a modern travel guide to Hong Kong may be found at Wikitravel.

This book is part of the British Library History of Asia module, available soon, in the BiblioBoard App.