Item MND - McDouall Album - Album of watercolours and photographic prints of E. Africa Rift Valley and Angola attributed to N. Douglas McDouall

1 album - large oblong folio 380x460x60mm, cloth boards, spine and corners leather bound with 50 brown paper leaves, labelled in white ink

Thought to have been from the estate of Sir Archibald Buchan-Hepburn of Smeaton (1852-1929)

bought from Wayfarer's Bookshop, Bowen Island, B.C.

Album is attributed to Nigel Douglas McDouall of Logan and includes:
East Africa Rift Valley: January-June 1909; 77 photographic prints, 33 watercolours and 5 pencil studies through the territories of the Uganda Protectorate (Uganda), Congo Free State (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and the North Western corner of German East Africa (Rwanda)
Angola: May-October 1904, 29 watercolours, 4 views from the Africa West Coast steamer with the remainder being landscapes, vegetation and portraits of local people in the south west highland area.
Mediteranean views - 15 unlabelled watercolour views of the Mediterranean, probably Spain, including coastline views, highland scenes, a village scene and 2 views of roads through arid landscapes featuring local people.

Collection is open to researchers by appointment, see (right click, open link in new tab:) https://www.rbge.org.uk/science-and-conservation/library-and-archives/visiting-the-library/

Permission required from RBGE.

• English

album was received in sound condition, but covers are worn, and item should be handled with care with appropriate support.

Montenegro and Albania album: note to add to the entry for Accession No 2018/4:
In October 2018, the vendors of the Africa album notified RBGE of a second album, reputedly from the estate of Sir Archibald Buchan-Hepburn and purchased by them at the same sale. The album contains 9 watercolours and 64 gelatin silver prints recording a mountaineering expedition to Montenegro and Albania in 1906, plus 7 uncaptioned watercolours of rural France. Although the album appears identical in format to the Africa album and with the same handwriting, the images from Montenegro and Albania consist of landscapes, townscapes and views of local people, buildings and animals but none of specific plants. While the similarity of the presentation and the style of some of the watercolours suggests the album had been assembled by the same hand as the Africa album, possibly Douglas McDouall, in the absence of any botanical interest or clear link with Logan there was felt to be no case for purchase.

filed under Buchan-Hepburn in illustrations collection / Rare Book Room