{"id":6750,"date":"2017-08-09T16:08:58","date_gmt":"2017-08-09T20:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6750"},"modified":"2017-10-02T11:57:30","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T15:57:30","slug":"travel-series-africa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6750","title":{"rendered":"Travel Series: Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"

This post was written by Tiffany Kajer Wright, research services assistant.<\/em><\/p>\n

In the fourth installation of our blog series in conjunction with the Around the World in (Almost) 80 Days exhibit, we\u2019re examining historical travel in Africa. At Special Collections Research Center, our Archives and Rare Books can bring the past to life and inspire future travel plans. Whether going on safari or seeking to understand other cultures and religions, travelling to Africa has been regarded with excitement and shrouded with mystery. From the Sahara to South Africa, travelers have recorded their thoughts, drawn maps, and photographed their way across the continent.<\/p>\n

Always considered an exotic and wild place, Africa has captured the attention of Western cartographers and geographers going back to the Roman Empire. In the early 1700s, Herman Moll sought out the most well-traveled people of his time and constructed a book of maps and descriptions of lands and peoples. He called his compilation The Compleat Geographer<\/u>. To the best of his ability, he included every bit of the known world, and Africa was no exception.<\/p>\n

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Moll, Herman, The Compleat Geographer, G114 .C74 1709, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University.<\/p><\/div>\n

The Sahara<\/a> is the largest hot desert in the world stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea, and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Sahel. Travel is traditionally done by camel, and Bryon Khun de Prorok did exactly that in 1920. He and his entourage ventured into the desert, and he wrote about their adventures in Mysterious Sahara<\/u>. Throughout the book are plates of his journey, including a stop at the Oasis of Nefta in Tunisia.<\/p>\n

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Khun de Prorok, Bryon, Mysterious Sahara, DT333 .K4, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University.<\/p><\/div>\n

Dr. John Paden<\/a>, a Clarence Robinson Professor of International Studies, donated his papers and books upon retiring. He conducted academic research in Nigeria during the 1960s, and has extensive materials from that time. Among the books and papers, he also donated a musical instrument called a yomkwo and several Qur’an (Koran) boards. These are boards used to help students memorize verses from the holy book, as well as practice their handwriting.<\/p>\n

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John N. Paden, Collection C0194, Box 132, Qur\u2019an\/Koran board, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University.<\/p><\/div>\n

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John N. Paden, Collection C0194, Box 132, Qur\u2019an\/Koran board, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The word \u201csafari<\/a>\u201d comes from the Swahili for \u201cjourney\u201d or \u201cexpedition,\u201d and was likely adapted from the Arabic \u201csafar,\u201d meaning \u201cto travel.\u201d If one goes on safari, one goes to Africa to do so. Edith McChesney Ker<\/a> did, and later donated slides of her photographs from Africa and around the world. Her collection spans from the 1950s to the early 2000s and is about 10,000 slides. She demonstrated an obvious preference for wildlife and nature shots on her global travels, including the wildlife of Kenya and Tanzania.<\/p>\n

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Edith McChesney Ker, Collection C0077, Box 28, Page 21, Slide 1, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University.<\/p><\/div>\n

In February 2016, Atlas Obscura posted a story<\/a> about the honeyguide \u2013 an unassuming bird that led hunters to bees\u2019 nests practically upon request in Tanzania. Over the summer, the story gained ground as other news outlets ran similarly-themed pieces. However, this bird\u2019s behavior was recorded as far back as 1881! Near the village of Kavimba, in the country now called Botswana, Dr. David Livingstone encountered this amazing bird in his travels during the mid-1800s. J.E. Chambliss compiled this tale and many more of the doctor\u2019s expeditions \u2013 alone and with Henry Stanley \u2013 in The Lives and Travels of Livingstone and Stanley<\/u>.<\/p>\n

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Chambliss, J. E., The Lives and Travels of Livingstone and Stanley, DT1030 .C44 1881, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University.<\/p><\/div>\n

Follow SCRC on Social Media and\u00a0look out for future posts on our\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0accounts. To search the collections\u00a0held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail\u00a0us at\u00a0speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a>\u00a0or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to\u00a0schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions. Appointments are not necessary to request and view collections.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post was written by Tiffany Kajer Wright, research services assistant. In the fourth installation of our blog series in conjunction with the Around the World in (Almost) 80 Days exhibit, we\u2019re examining historical travel in Africa. At Special Collections Research Center, our Archives and Rare Books can bring the past to life and inspire […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6756,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,198,326,5,506],"tags":[7,111,312,22,300,57,65,485],"class_list":["post-6750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibits","category-photography-collections","category-rare-books-2","category-scrc-interest","category-travel-series","tag-africa","tag-exhibit","tag-exhibition","tag-exhibits","tag-manuscripts","tag-photography","tag-rare-books","tag-travel"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Pic-2-Mysterious-Sahara.jpg?fit=3252%2C2348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-1KS","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6547,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6547","url_meta":{"origin":6750,"position":0},"title":"Around the World in (Almost) Eighty Days","author":"admin","date":"May 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Summer is approaching and travel plans have been made! Special Collections Research Center holds many images and books that represent great travel destinations in the United States and around the world. That is why we have planned a new exhibit - \"Around the World in (Almost) Eighty Days: Traveling the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TravelExhibit2017.px645.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TravelExhibit2017.px645.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TravelExhibit2017.px645.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6783,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6783","url_meta":{"origin":6750,"position":1},"title":"Travel Series: Hi’iaka","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"August 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello all! Amanda here. I was one of the curators of Special Collection Research Center\u2019s summer exhibition \u201cAround the World in (Almost) 80 Days,\u201d which although now closed, lingers on in this last Travel Series post. During the curation and building of this exhibit, my co-curator Brittney Falter and I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0007-e1503501278748.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0007-e1503501278748.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0007-e1503501278748.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0007-e1503501278748.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5377,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5377","url_meta":{"origin":6750,"position":2},"title":"Two New Exhibitions in SC&A Feature Items from Collection of Rare Books by Jan Morris and Oliver Atkins Photographs","author":"Bob Vay","date":"October 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"SC&A has completed two new exhibits of materials from its holdings. \u00a0On exhibit displays a group of books by historian and travel writer, Jan Morris, while the other features photographs from photographer, Oliver Atkins. Both exhibitions run through December 2015. \"Excerpts from a Life Well Traveled: The University Libraries' Jan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jan Morris, as photographed in 1974. ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/janmorris_headshot_f423aeb0ce-238x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6718,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6718","url_meta":{"origin":6750,"position":3},"title":"Travel Series: Europe and Asia","author":"admin","date":"July 28, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Tiffany Kajer Wright, research services assistant. In the third installation of our blog series in conjunction with the Around the World in (Almost) 80 Days exhibit, we\u2019re taking a look at travel in Asia and Europe. At the Special Collections Research Center, our collection of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/csoda-inside-cover.png?fit=961%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/csoda-inside-cover.png?fit=961%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/csoda-inside-cover.png?fit=961%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/csoda-inside-cover.png?fit=961%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6995,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6995","url_meta":{"origin":6750,"position":4},"title":"Advances in Science Exhibit Reception","author":"admin","date":"November 3, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Please join Special Collections Research Center for our exhibition reception on Tuesday. We will also have a guest speaker, Dr. James Trefil. We are showcasing a variety of materials, such as rare books, photographs and documents that touch on areas such as bioscience, information technology, engineering, and space exploration. 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