Saturday, December 24, 2011

On The Nile

On the Nile - titlepage 1874



On the Nile - Alexandria - (camel train adjacent to river)



On the Nile - Shébook in the Cabin- camels
“After getting astride of the saddle, comes motion No. 1, which is caused by the animal raising his hind quarters from the ground; this throws you forward, and you lose both your hat and your balance : then comes motion No. 2, which corresponds to motion No. 1, but with the front quarters; this motion throws the traveller as far backward as he was thrown forward before.

These two motions leave the animal and the traveller neither fairly up nor altogether down ; and it requires another motion, No. 3, to bring fore and hind quarters, together with the hump and other adjacent portions, to a “perpendicular;” which act, when accomplished, leaves the rider on the animal’s hump, provided he has clung to the saddle with sufficient tenacity. After the first mount the whole matter is simplified.“




On the Nile - Shébook in the Cabin vignettes (beggar, people on horses etc)



On the Nile - Shébook in the Cabin- whirling dervish



On the Nile - Alexandria vignettes (hookah, groups of people adjacent to river)



On the Nile - Paris to Marseilles vignettes (horse drawn carriage, sedan chair, boat)



On the Nile - Paris to Marseilles vignettes - large passenger + luggage transfer rowboat



On the Nile - Paris to Marseilles vignettes (jeweller, crowds, veiled woman etc)



On the Nile - Under the Awning - beggar, ostrich etc



On the Nile - Under the Awning - boat, gun etc



On the Nile - Mohammed Citabo and Mohammed Wergan - people in temple



On the Nile - Alexandria - camel and resting rider

"In the early nineteenth century a trip to Egypt and up the Nile aboard a native dhahabîyeh (large sailing craft) was reserved for only the most adventurous traveler, or howadji, a Turkish word originally meaning 'merchant' or 'shopkeeper'. Howadji soon became a term applied by local inhabitants to all foreign travelers." [Source: Smithsonian exhibit: Nile Notes of a Howadji]

"Augustus Hoppin [W] left his law profession in 1848 to study art and pursue a career as an illustrator. He became quite successful and widely known for his illustrations for novels. In 1873, he embarked on a extensive tour of Egypt and soon followed his adventure with a fully illustrated book, On the Nile. The accompanying narrative disturbingly captures the narrow, patronizing, and prejudiced views of Anglo travelers during the Victorian period, especially toward those from Middle Eastern culture and religion. Scattered about are illustrations describing more lighthearted amusing moments during the trip[..]. [source/via]

'On The Nile' by Augustus Hoppin (1874) is available from Widener Library at Harvard University.

The scratchy, engraved vignettes contain a lot of interesting/humorous detail.

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