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an old photo of a group of people standing in front of a housean old photo of a group of people posing for a picture in a bookan old photo of a couple of people standing in a fieldan old black and white photo of a group of people in a field
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1374 - Africa – West Africa Original materials by Jean and Juliette…
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Estimate €3,500 - €5,000
Sale commission
Description
Africa – West Africa Original materials by Jean and Juliette Logerais in 2 notebooks. 1. Souvenirs de Voyage. Journal du Dahomey. 4 February 1902 – 22 May 1903. Extracts from letters addressed to his mother. Signed J. Logerais. 2. Journal de Dahomey. Continued. And: 14 inserted sheets of coated paper, handwritten with the title ‘Dahomey – Lagos – Senegal – Sudan’ and a mounted title picture (King of Dahomey), with 61 original silver gelatine prints, mostly inserted into slits or glued in on one side, on various types of paper, all with handwritten, mostly dated captions in pencil or ink beneath the inserts or on the reverse. c. 1902–1903, 1908. 8°. Unbound. The front covers each titled ‘Dahomey’ and bearing the mounted monogram ‘J L’; the spines numbered ‘A’ and ‘B’; and 2° (sheets) with photographs: 13 x 18 cm – 7.5 x 11.5 cm (scuffed, the title page slightly stained). A unique collection comprising two notebooks together with ephemera, containing reports on his stay, work and travels in present-day Benin, particularly Porto-Novo and Abomey, as well as Lagos (Nigeria), together with rare photographs, including some from present-day Mali. - From the estate of Dr Jean Logerais, who served as chief health officer in Porto-Novo (capital of French Dahomey (Benin) since 1894) at the beginning of the 20th century. - The notebooks contain copies, made in the 1910s, of 36 letters written between 1902 and 1903 in Porto-Novo and Cotonou by Logerais’s wife, Juliette, to her mother, mainly containing vivid descriptions of the medical service in Dahomey and the life of the French upper class living there. - The main text is occasionally illustrated with ink drawings and extensively supplemented by pasted-in or enclosed handwritten or printed ephemera, e.g. a hand-drawn map of Porto-Novo showing the hospital, three extensive handwritten reports by Jean Logerais on the celebrations for the French National Day on 14 July 1902 in Porto-Novo, a trip to Lagos (December 1902), another journey to Abomey and the Dan region in Dahomey (March 1903), as well as a list of deaths among French residents in Dahomey (1902–1918) and a chromolithographed postcard entitled ‘Souvenir de Dahomé’. - The 61 photographs (15 measuring approx. 13 x 18 cm, 10 approx. 12 x 17 cm, 9 approx. 9 x 12 cm, and 27 measuring approx. 7.5 x 11.5 cm) show views of and buildings or scenes in Porto-Novo and Cotonou, including the lagoon, the market, a traditional house with carvings, as well as a group portrait featuring King Toffa I (c. 1850–1908) and the Logerais couple, portraits of local girls and women, wedding parties, etc. Five of the photographs, taken during a journey to Abeokuta (British Nigeria), show, amongst other things, people suffering from leprosy and Jean Logerais examining a sick child. Another group of photographs from 1908 documents Logerais’s journey to French Sudan (Mali) and features camel riders, views of Kayes and Koulikoro, portraits of balafon players, local women grinding wheat, and others. - The prints are in places slightly silvered at the edges, faded and occasionally show some, mostly slight, browning. - Overall, these are historically significant original documents and, for the most part, sharply defined, extremely rare photographs from the early days of the French colonial territories of Dahomey, Senegal and Mali. Africa. – West – A unique collection of two notebooks and ephemera, containing reports on stays, work and travels in present-day Benin, particularly Porto-Novo and Abomey, as well as Lagos (Nigeria), plus rare photographs, including some from present-day Mali. - From the estate of Dr Jean Logerais, who served as chief health officer in Porto-Novo (now Benin, capital of French Dahomey since 1894) at the beginning of the 20th century. - Notebooks containing copies, made in the 1910s, of 36 letters written between 1902 and 1903 in Porto-Novo and Cotonou by Logerais’s wife, Juliette, to her mother; these mainly feature vivid descriptions of the medical services in Dahomey and the lives of the French upper classes living there. - The main text is occasionally illustrated with ink drawings and extensively supplemented by handwritten or printed ephemera that have been pasted in or enclosed, e.g. a hand-drawn map of Porto-Novo showing the hospital, three extensive manuscript reports by Jean Logerais on the celebrations of the French national holiday on 14 July 1902 in Porto-Novo, a trip to Lagos (December 1902), another trip to Abomey and the Dan region in Dahomey (March 1903), a list of deaths of French residents in Dahomey (1902–1918) and a chromolithographed postcard ‘Souvenir de Dahomé’. - The 61 photographs (15 measuring approx. 13 x 18 cm, 10 measuring approx. 12 x 17 cm, 9 measuring approx. 9 x 12 cm, and 27 measuring approx. 7.5 x 11.5 cm) depicting buildings and scenes in Porto-Novo and Cotonou, including the lagoon, the market, a traditional house with carvings, a group portrait with King Toffa I (c. 1850–1908) and the Logerais couple, portraits of local girls and women, wedding parties, etc. Five of the photographs, taken during a trip to Abeokuta (British Nigeria), show lepers and Jean Logerais examining a sick child, amongst other things. Another group of photographs from 1908 documents the Logerais’ trip to French Sudan (Mali) and shows camel riders, views of Kayes and Koulikoro, portraits of balafon players, local women grinding wheat, and others. - The photographs are slightly silvered in places around the edges; some are slightly faded and occasionally show mostly minor browning. - Overall, these are historically significant original documents and predominantly high-contrast, extremely rare photographs from the early days of the French colonial territories of Dahomey, Senegal and Mali.
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About the sale Valuable books, prints, historical photographs
Auction location
Auction time 10/24/2026 at 10:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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