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Photo, Print, Drawing The Kosso Tree. Abyssinia.

About this Item

Title

  • The Kosso Tree. Abyssinia.

Summary

  • In 1868, The Illustrated London News commissioned the Scottish artist William Simpson (1823--99) to cover a military campaign launched by Britain against Abyssinia (present-day Ethiopia) to rescue several British officials and missionaries held by the Emperor Theodore (also called Tewodros II, ruled 1855--68). The commission was Simpson's first major work for the Illustrated London News and the beginning of a long relationship with the paper that ended only with his death. Although Simpson's primary task was to document the campaign, he was also interested in people he encountered and places he visited, especially ancient rock-cut churches and other antiquities. Shown here is Simpson's watercolor sketch of two men by a large kosso tree. Then common in the Ethiopian highlands, the tree was held to have medicinal properties. The sketch is from the Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection at the Brown University Library.

Names

  • Simpson, William, 1823-1899 Artist.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 1868-05.

Headings

  • -  Ethiopia
  • -  1868-05
  • -  Mountains
  • -  Trees
  • -  Watercolors

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: Water-color drawing ; 57 x 38 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: Brown University Library.
  • -  Content in English.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Anne S.K. Brown Military Collection

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021670488

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Simpson, William, Artist. The Kosso Tree. Abyssinia. Ethiopia, 1868. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -05] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670488/.

APA citation style:

Simpson, W. (1868) The Kosso Tree. Abyssinia. Ethiopia, 1868. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -05] [Photograph] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021670488/.

MLA citation style:

Simpson, William, Artist. The Kosso Tree. Abyssinia. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, -05] Photograph. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021670488/>.