Item #1461 CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914
CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914

CHRISTIAN METHODIST MISSIONARY JOHN SPRINGER CENTRAL AFRICA AND SOUTH AFRICA 1907-1914

Item #1461

Thirty-one sepia photographs made between 1907-1914 are mounted on stiff paper. Photographs are organized in the order in which they’re numbered (21047-40642). Photographs vary in size from 3 1/2” x 4 1/4” to 4” x 5 1/4”. Each photograph is provided with meticulously detailed description on recto below mounted image.

The photographer is not explicitly named, though it is suggested in one caption which reads: “This phallic emblem was found just outside of Kapepa’s village. Less than four years previous to the taking of the photo by Mr. Springer.” It is assumed that these images were made my Mr. Springer during his Mission, and the captions were made by another man. On verso of six images credit is given to the Brown Brothers — indicated by stamp identifying location of print shop first at 220 West 42nd St., New York, New York, and later in Sterling, Pennsylvania.

The earliest image denotes “a trip into the interior”. This geographic and social exploration of Africa spans from Luanda, Angola to the vast Democratic Republic of Congo, to Rhodesia, to Cape Town, et al.

Along the coastline, indigenous Africans in an undisclosed location, can be seen loading dugout canoes with grass for roof thatch. The earliest dated photograph, March 17, 1907, displays a “congregation” standing around a Christian missionary in the Rezende Compound of Penhalonga, Rhodesia.

Photographs depict the primitive buildings and chapels. Image 3079 is that of the chapel at Kambove, half finished. It is made of twig walls, grass-thatched roof, tarp, and seats inside are made of dried bricks. The following image is of the Springer’s house in Kambove with dried brick walls and a thatched roof with significant height. This home was a gift to the Springers in 1910 from the British Government. A photograph taken in 1913 is of Mrs. Springer and a slave. A photograph of Mr. Springer’s mother follows in Kambove in the year 1914. No other photographs provide a later date.

John Springer was a Christian missionary of the Methodist denomination, spreading salvation across the African continent. He and his wife, Helen, walked 1,500 miles across central Africa in 1907. After which he took furlough from 1907-1910, and from 1910-1915 he was took several assignments including the following locations: Kalalua, Northwestern Rhodesia (1910-1911), Lukoshi in Belgian Congo (1911-1913), and Kambove (1913-1915). This is according to his Wikipedia article.

Springer’s project was supported by British and American Empires in the stated goal of globalizing Christianity, and to “evangelize, educate, and civilize” the African continent. Captions under photographs of indigenous people referred to as follows: “Typical lower Congo savage”, “Some of these stalwart barbarians still live in so called civilized South Africa”, and so on.

In attempt to further civilize the continent, the construction of the Cape to Cairo Railroad was a project which began in the late 19th century. A photo (3150) made June 6, 1913 in Kambove documents the ongoing project. The railroad was intended to span over 10,000 miles from South Africa to Egypt, however due to conflicts and imperial neglect the project has yet to be finished.

Robert Shields is pictured in the final photograph (40642) in this collection. He is pictured here posing in front of a thatched hut in Launda, Angola with five African “carriers”. Robert Shield was a Methodist missionary located in Angola between the 1890s-1960s. This is according to his archive in the Duke University Libraries. The Shields Family Papers elucidate three generations of this missionary family.

Few African individuals are named in this collection. Those who are: “Mevata Yamevo” (possibly a misinterpretation of Mwata Yamvo, the name of a 17th century ruler of the Lunda Kingdom and subsequent rulers); “Jacob Marveni”; “Rayeka and his family”.


Notable images & locations:
- A Mission from the West St. Paul in Launda, Angola
- Table Mountain, Cape Town.
- Umtasa House (1910( a Methodist Episcopal Church mission station with a farm, schools, and a focus on community outreach
- “Hotels” and whiskey bars for the white traveler in remote locations in Kambove, DRC, etc.
- A tree near the Zambezi River.

Price: $750.00

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