THE SUDAN CAMPAIGN 1896-1908 MISCELLANEOUS
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EMIN RELIEF EXPEDITION STAR 1887-89, silver, hallmarked Birmingham 1889; together with a good example of Henry Morton Stanley's autograph,’Faithfully Yours, Henry M. Stanley’, extremely fine
£600-700
This medal was instituted by the Royal Geographical Society and awarded to native personnel of the expedition led by Henry Morton Stanley to rescue Emin Pasha, Governor of Equatoria Province in the Southern Sudan, before he could be captured by the Khalifa’s forces. About 175 of these awards were distributed to the native bearers in Africa.
Following the death of the Mahdi, his successor the Khalifa continued to advance his interests, so much so that only one Egyptian outpost remained in the Sudan, far to the south, in steamy Equatoria, near the border with Uganda, where one of Gordon’s Lieutenants, Emin Pasha (Eduard Schnitzer), held out in the small township of Kavalli on Lake Albert. Emin had previously been told by the government that he was on his own and that he should get out as best he could but he chose to stay put. However, public sympathy decreed that in the wake of the death of Gordon, he, at least, should be saved. He was duly “rescued” in 1889, apparently somewhat against his will, by an expedition led by the explorer Henry Morton Stanley, the same man who had found Dr. David Livingstone in 1871. Stanley’s expedition made an epic and magnificent trek from the Atlantic coast of the Congo Free State, to Zanzibar, picking up Emin on the way, the first time that the continent had been crossed from west to east.
One of the last major expeditions to explore Africa, it was a remarkable achievement, about which many books have been written and many articles published on the internet. Stanley returned to Europe in May 1890 to tremendous public acclaim; both he and his officers received numerous awards, honorary degrees, and speaking engagements. In June alone his newly published book about the expedition sold 150,000 copies; sold with a the paperback copy of Dark Safari, The Life behind the Legend of Henry Morton Stanley, by John Bierman.
39
KHARTOUM SIEGE MONEY, a rare first issue 100 piaster note bearing Gordon’s personal signature and his stamp as Governor- General of the Sudan, linen backed, about extremely fine
£200-250
When Khartoum was invested Gordon only had about £40,000 in the city treasury, and as the months wore on he found that he would be unable to pay his troops, or pay for confiscated supplies. Ever the practical man, Gordon decided that he would print his own money, essentially promissory notes, to be redeemed in Cairo in six months. Gordon said in his Journal ‘In these paper money notes I am personally responsible for the liquidation, and any one may bring an action against me, in my individual capacity, to recover the money, while in the orders it might be a query whether they (the authorities of Cairo) might not decline to pay the orders’. He was taking quite a gamble. The notes were designed by the Pasha himself and printed in 10 denominations. The first of the notes bore Gordon’s own signature, but as the quantity printed increased, a hectograph signature was introduced. When the city fell the notes were of course worthless to the Mahdi, and those found were dumped in the streets or burned. However, some did make it out of the city, and eventually to Cairo, where true to form, the Egyptian Government did not want to honour them. Eventually following political pressure, some were redeemed - but most not until 1892, and some not until after the turn of the century. Redeemed notes bear various official stamps on the reverse.
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