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- Title
- Le Hottentot
- Description
- Portrait image of Klaas, a young Hottentot (i.e., Khoikhoi), who accompanied Le Vaillant during parts of his voyage. According to the text, the engraving was done after a sketch by Vaillant. Klass is dressed in the typical Khoikhoi fashion: he wears a fur loin-cloth, a cape made from sheep or badger's skin (with the woolly side inward), and a lamb-skin cap. It appears that he also wears animal innards around his neck and legs, as was customary among the Khoikhoin. A good description of their dress can be found in John Ogilby's Africa: Being an Accurate Description of the Regions of Aegypt, Barbary, Lybia, and Billedulgerid (London: 1670), p. 590-591., Plate in François Le Vaillant's Voyage de Monsieur Le Vaillant dans l'intérieur de l'Afrique par le Cap de Bonne-Espérance: dans les Années 1780, 81, 82, 83, 84 & 85 (A Paris: Chez Leroy, Libraire, rue Saint-Jacques; vis-à-vis celle de la Parcheminerie, no. 15, M.DCC.LXXXX [1790]), vol. 1, p. 212., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
- Date
- [1790]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Leva 1790 9861.O v 1 p 212, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2923
- Title
- Hottentote
- Description
- Image of a young Hottentot (i.e., Khoikhoi) woman whom Le Vaillant met during his travels. The woman wears typical Khoikhoi dress: namely, a cape made from sheep or badger's skin. She does not, however, wear the customary fur loin-cloth -- an oversight allowing the illustrator to show her genitalia. Like many Khoikhoi women (including Saarti Baartman, the so-called "Hottentot Venus," who was crudely "exhibited" to European audiences in the early nineteenth century), the woman shown here has a "vagina dentata," which Le Vaillant described as a "natural apron." (See the English translation of Le Vaillant, Travels into the Interior Parts of Africa [London: Printed for G.G. and J. Robinson, Paternoster-Row, 1796], vol. 2, p. 353), Plate in François Le Vaillant's Voyage de Monsieur Le Vaillant dans l'intérieur de l'Afrique par le Cap de Bonne-Espérance: dans les Années 1780, 81, 82, 83, 84 & 85 (A Paris: Chez Leroy, Libraire, rue Saint-Jacques; vis-à-vis celle de la Parcheminerie, no. 15, M.DCC.LXXXX [1790]), vol. 2, p. 346., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
- Date
- [1790]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Leva 1790 9861.O v 2 p 346, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2924
- Title
- Camp de Pampoen-Kraal
- Description
- Depiction of Le Vaillant's camp at Pampoen-Kraal, where, according to his account, he and his party repaired their wagons and carriages, and dried their goods, which had become wet during the course of their travels. (In the engraving, however, it appears that Africans do much of the work for them.) "The hill of Pampoen-Kraal, . . . ," Le Vaillant wrote, "pleased me much." As he then recalled, "Nor far from my tent [right] stood a small eminence, crowned by a thicket of thirty or thirty-five feet in diameter. The trees and shrubs of which it was composed, in growing had so interwoven their branches, that the whole appeared as one very thick and bushy body. Having imagined that I might convert it into a little palace, I ordered a path to be traced out to its centre, and the branches to be lopped off on each side to the height of a man, so as to afford an easy passage. In the middle of the thicket, by the force of labour and employing the hatchet, we were able to cut out two chambers perfectly square; in one of which I placed my table and chair; this was my study. The second I ornamented with my kitchen utensils: but this did not prevent me from using it at the same time as a dining room. These two apartments, naturally covered with branches and leaves impenetrably thick, afforded me a delightful and cool retreat, when harassed and covered with sweat and dust, after my hunted excursion in the morning, I retired from the heat of the day, and the scorching rays of the sun. (See the English translation of Le Vaillant, Travels into the Interior Parts of Africa [London: Printed for G.G. and J. Robinson, Paternoster-Row, 1796], vol. 1, p. 164-165.), Fold-out plate in François Le Vaillant's Voyage de Monsieur Le Vaillant dans l'intérieur de l'Afrique par le Cap de Bonne-Espérance: dans les Années 1780, 81, 82, 83, 84 & 85 (A Paris: Chez Leroy, Libraire, rue Saint-Jacques; vis-à-vis celle de la Parcheminerie, no. 15, M.DCC.LXXXX [1790]), vol. 1, p. 166., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
- Date
- [1790]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Leva 1790 9861.O v 1 p 166, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2922
- Title
- After what manner the Hottentots secure their cattle in the night ; The carriage - oxen of the Hottentots
- Description
- Included in Chapter XV, "Of the Hottentot Management with Regard to their Cattle," the plates describe aspects of animal husbandry, as practiced by the Hottentot [i.e. Khoikoin] peoples. As the title suggests, the top engraving shows the manner in which the Khoikoin secured cattle during the night. The image is described in section XIV, where Kolb wrote, "I shall now shew after what Manner the Hottentots secure their cattle in the Night. The Cots of a Kraal [defined variously as a hut, an entire village, an enclosure, or a corral], as I have said already, are rang'd in a Circle, the Area of which is quite open. There is but one Entrance into a Kraal and that a narrow one. Between Five and Six in the Evening, as I have said too, the Hottentots generally drive their Cattle from Pasture. . . . On the Area of the Kraal they lodge the Calves and all the small Cattle. And round the Kraal, on the Outside, they range the great Cattle, their Heads close up to the Cots. Their Great Cattle, so rang'd, they tie, Two and Two together, by the Feet, to prevent their Struggling." (p. 176) The bottom engraving shows the oxen of the Khoikoin, of which Kolb said the followiing, "The Hottentots have likewise great Numbers of Oxen for Carriage. These too are very strong and stately Creatures, chosen out of the Herds at about the Age of Two Years, by old Men, well skill'd in Cattle. When they have destin'd an Ox to carry Burthens, they take and throw him on his Back on the Ground; and fastening his Head and Feet, as they do those of a Bull when they geld him, they make a Hole with a sharp Knife through his upper Lip, between his Nostrils. Into this Hole they put a stick, about half an Inch thick, and a Foot and a Half long, with a Hook at Top to prevent its falling through. By this hook'd Stick they break him to Obedience and Good Behaviour: For if he refuses to be govern'd, or to carry the Burthens they lay upon him, they fix his Nose by this hook'd Stick to the Ground; and there hold it till he comes to a better Temper." (p. 180-81), Page from Peter Kolb's The Present State of the Cape of Good Hope (London: Printed for W. Innys and R. Manby, at the west end of St. Paul's, MDCCXXXVIII [1738]), vol. 1, p. 174., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
- Date
- [1738]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Kolb 532.O v 1 p 174, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2918
- Title
- The kraals and hutts of the Hottentots ; The Hottentot skinner
- Description
- Top engraving accompanies Chapter XVIII, "Of the Kraals, or Villages, of the Hottentots; their Huts and Hut-Furniture." It shows a Khoikhoin kraal, or village, in the background. As Kolb wrote, "I have seen Hundreds of Kraals, and never saw one that consisted of less than Twenty Huts. There are many so large that the Huts are not easily counted: And it is, in the Eye of a Hottentot, a very contemptible Kraal that contains not more than a Hundred Souls. The Generality of the Kraals contain each from Three Hundred to Four Hundred Souls. Some contain about Five Hundred. On the Area of a Kraal they can and do sometimes lodge several Thousands of Small Cattle." (p. 218) The foreground of the engraving features two oval-shaped Khoikhoin huts, one only partially built. According to Kolb, these huts usually ranged from ten to fourteen feet in diameter. They were built with flexible wooden sticks, which were then covered with animal skins. As Kolb explained, the top of the hut was rarely "so high that a man could stand under it erect." (p. 221) Bottom engraving shows a Khoikhoin skinner, and accompanies Chapter XIX, "Of Certain Handy-Crafts the Hottentots exercise among themselves." Referring to the engraving, Kolb wrote: "I shall now let the Reader into the Art and Mystery of a Hottentot Skinner. He takes a Sheep Skin, fresh and reeking from the Back of the Sheep, and rubs into it as much Fat as he can. At this Work he takes Abundance of Pains; and the Effect is, that the Skin is thereby render'd tough and smooth, and the Wool or Hair is secur'd from Falling off. This is All he does if he dresses a Sheep-Skin for an European: And he does the same, and no more, if he dresses the Skin of a Wild Beast for him. And, whatever the Reader may think of the Matter, a Skin dress'd in this Manner by a Hottentot is a very curious Piece of Work." (p. 232), Page from Peter Kolb's The Present State of the Cape of Good Hope (London: Printed for W. Innys and R. Manby, at the west end of St. Paul's, MDCCXXXVIII [1738]), vol. 1, p. 218., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
- Date
- [1738]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Kolb 532.O v 1 p 218, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2919
- Title
- The Hottentots butcher ; The Hottentot mat-maker, potter & c
- Description
- Engravings accompany Chapter XIX, "Of certain Handy-Crafts the Hottentots exercise among themselves." In the foreground of the top image, two pairs of Hottentot [i.e. Khoikhoin] men work separately to butcher two oxen. In the left background, two other men butcher a sheep. A fourth pair boils water in cauldrons; and two others (right) hold the entrails of another animal. The bottom image shows several Hottentot mat-makers and a potter, all of whom appear to be women. (As Kolb wrote, the mat-makers "are, for the most Part, women: And they are very expert in their Business." [p. 236]) In the engraving, the mat-makers are involved in various stages of production: one background figure cuts the reeds out of which the mats will be woven; another woman carries the reeds, and yet another (slightly left of center) lays them on the ground to dry. The woman sitting on the partially finished mat is most likely weaving. In the foreground, a mat-maker strips reeds, while a potter makes a bowl. Several small pots are shown on the ground., Page from Peter Kolb's The Present State of the Cape of Good Hope (London: Printed for W. Innys and R. Manby, at the west end of St. Paul's, MDCCXXXVIII [1738]), vol. 1, p. 226., Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
- Date
- [1738]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare U Afri Kolb 532.O v 1 p 226, https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2920
- Title
- Dracht en wapening der Hottentots = Les armes et habits des Hottentots, aupres le Cap de Bonne Esperance
- Description
- Set in a lush landscape near the Cape of Good Hope, the illustration features a group of Khoikoin, also known (somewhat pejoratively) as the Hottentots. As the title suggests, the engraving shows their weapons and manner of dress. Both the men and the women wear loin-cloths and shawls bordered with fur. A few wear bands around their lower legs. Some of the Khoikoin carry spears; the central figure is also shown with a bow and a quiver., Double-page plate in Pieter van der Aa's La galerie agreable du monde, où l'on voit et un grand nombre de cartes tres-exactes et de belles tailles-douces, les principaux empires, roiaumes, republiques, provinces, villes, bourgs et forteresses . . . (Le tout mis en ordre & executé à Leide, par Pierre vander Aa [1729?]), n.p., In the absence of pagination, 57 has been written next to the plate., Seemingly, van der Aa copied from an unsigned engraving published in John Ogilby's Africa: Being an Accurate Description of the Regions of Aegypt, Barbary, Lybia, and Billedulgerid (London: 1670) under the title "Dracht en Wapening der Hottentots / The Hottentots Clothing and Their Arms.", Fels Afro-Americana Image Project, Africa: Images, Maps, and Geography.
- Date
- [1729?]
- Location
- Library Company of Philadelphia | Books & Other Texts | Rare *U Gen Gal v 60-62 1729.F n.p. (57), https://digital.librarycompany.org/islandora/object/Islandora%3A2951