Beschreibung:

NIGERIA -- STANDISH HENRY PRENDERGAST VEREKER (1878-1953)
NIGERIA -- STANDISH HENRY PRENDERGAST VEREKER (1878-1953) Typed journals, Yola Province, Northern Nigeria, September 1908 – December 1927, autograph annotations and emendations scattered throughout, illustrated with 498 of the author’s photographs, 34 watercolours and sketches, and other related ephemera including news cuttings and maps inserted or tipped in, six volumes , 4to (290 x 210mm), brown calf, embossed with gilt lettering; with an album, ‘My Nigerian Photographs’, by his wife Eleanor Elizabeth Vereker, containing 297 photographs, oblong 4to (245 x 390mm), brown calf, embossed. Provenance : by descent from S.H.P. Vereker. These volumes cover the three decades spent by Vereker in the diplomatic service in Northern Nigeria. Starting out as Assistant Resident, Vereker’s daily duties range from valuing livestock for taxation to leading missions to suppress troublesome tribes such as the ‘Piriki Hill Pagans’, in addition to endless requests to adjudicate on local legal disputes. The ceremonial requirements of the post bring him into contact with the vibrant festal life that endured in the early 20th century – his impressions of such occasions, from a ‘Mohamedan Xmas at Yola’ to a festival of dancing, are evocatively relayed, often with dry humour (‘in this street, the fairer (?) sex loiter and gossip’) . Vereker’s striking account of the shock upon hearing war declared in 1914 – the first news of it in the province – and experience on the front line of the Cameroon Campaign against Germany are reported in the same matter-of-fact style as his more routine diplomatic duties. After the ‘maddening’ sound of machine guns during the skirmishes with the Germans at Garua, which resulted in significant British casualties, the British victory is recorded alongside jubilant news cuttings. Roles of increasing seniority follow, including time spent in command in the occupied Cameroons. As Resident, he attends the state visit to Lagos of the future Edward VIII, wryly noting the chagrin ensuing from the favouritism of the Prince of Wales in selecting his dancing partners. Equally as compelling as notes on residential duties are Vereker’s observations on the local landscape, architecture, customs and religions, supplemented by watercolours and by 498 photographs, which together offer a rich insight into all elements of life in Yola Province. Images of local dress and hairstyles are found alongside coloured sketches of cooking implements and indigenous plants, with detailed descriptions of whatever catches his interest -- from ‘Ju-Ju’ men to yams. After a decorated service in the Boer War, Vereker – the grandson of the 4th Viscount Gort – became the Vice-Consul to Cherbourg from 1901-1904. His subsequent career as an Assistant Resident in the Yola Province, which included an attachment to the British Forces during the Great War, and his skill in controlling the districts variously under his control were recognised in 1922 with his promotion to Resident – a copy of a letter from Churchill, in his post as Colonial Secretary, noting his good work, is preserved in one volume.