Lot 44: Dr. John Kirk (1832-1923)

Dr. John Kirk (1832-1923)
Photographs taken on the East Coast of Africa, 1884-1885 (Album C: Zanzibar, Mbweni, Lamu, Mombasa)
an album containing 45 photographs, mounted on card leaves, the majority titled in ink on the mounts
albumen prints
9¾ x 11½in. (24.7 x 29.2cm.) and smaller
oblong 2° album, half morocco gilt, gilt edges, titled 'Photographs taken on the East Coast of Africa by Sir John Kirk. 1884 & 1885.' on front free endpaper

By descent from Sir John Kirk to the present owner, his great granddaughter.

Listed no. 45 in the inventory of Kirk's Papers prepared by Dr Anne Thurston in 1982 (Photographs and Sketches. 45. 1884-1885. Zanzibar. Mombasa. Lamu. Kilwa. Photographs by Kirk. ... 45 prints in 1 album).
The album includes views of Zanzibar, the harbour and shipping, views of Kirk's garden and its flora at Mbweni, Zanzibar, and an interior view of the British Agency, views of Kilwa, Mnarani ruins near Kilifi, the fort at Mombasa, Lamu and Dar es Salam, group portraits including 'The Governor of Lamu and suite' and 'People of Lamu', a view of Quelimane, Lady Kirk(?) in a palanquin at Quelilmane, and 'General Matthews Shamba'. One photograph of Quelimane is signed with initials and dated 'JK 1889' in ink, and there are two views of Malta, presumably dating from his voyage back to England on his retirement from consular service in 1887.

Following his service as economic botanist and medical officer on Livingstone's Zambezi expedition 1858-1864, Kirk, a Scots physician, botanist and amateur photographer, returned to Africa in 1866, embarking on a 20-year career as a political agent, serving as Agency Surgeon, Consul and Consul-General in Zanzibar. Kirk's pioneering and experimental photography on Livingstone's expedition provide the only photographic record of the expedition, complementing Baines's drawings and pictures. His work in Portuguese East Africa is the earliest photography in the region. For an earlier album by Kirk, including images of the Livingstone expedition, see Christie's, 26 September 1997, lot 66.