Distinctive Features:Space in the first line of title left blank.Includes ground plan and ‘PLAN OF TERRE PLEIN’ of Ras-Morbat Fort with corresponding longitudinal sections and elevations. Lettered for reference with a key in the bottom right-hand corner. Measurements reported.Inscriptions:On recto, bottom left-hand corner: ‘Isthmus Office July 15th 1846 Drawn by F. Welsh’.‘Copied in the Chief Engrs. Office Bombay 26th September 1846’.On recto, bottom center: ‘/Signed/ J. Kilner Captain Executive Engineer Aden’.On verso, bottom left-hand corner with bleed-through into the recto:‘In Bombay Secret Lre. No. 113 of 1846 Recd. via Southampton 10th Novr. 1846 Aden Fortifications’.1 sheetMaterials:Pen and ink with wash on tracing paperDimensions:695 x 1022 mm
This file contains a letter by Brigadier-General Charles Henry Uvedale Price in which he forwards a report on a visit to the Idrissi [Idrisi] Saiyid by Major Charles Richard Bradshaw, General Staff, Aden, to the Secretary to Government, Political Department, Bombay. The documents discuss the campaign in South Arabia during the First World War which involved fighting between the Arab-Turk army and the Idrissi and his forces and largely centred around the port city of Aden. The correspondence details the need for the British to supply the Idrissi with suitable ammunition if he is to have any chance of defeating the invading Turkish army.1 file (3 folios)The file consists of a single document.Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 33, and terminates at f 35, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
This note on the effects of the Arab rising on Aden and its hinterland, with special reference to the possible action of the Turks, was forwarded from the General Officer Commanding and Political Resident in Aden, William C Walton, to the Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department. It discusses the arrangement of an uprising of Arabs against the Turks by the Sherif of Mecca [Ḥusayn bin ‘Alī al-Hāshimī], and outlines the possible effects that a rising could have on the British position in Aden and its Hinterland.1 file (2 folios)This file consists of a single document.Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at f 49, and terminates at f 50, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. An additional foliation sequence is present in parallel; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
Genre/Subject Matter:This full-length standing studio portrait of a woman is intended to demonstrate an ethnic, occupational and class ‘type’, in this case that of a Somali ‘stick-gatherer’. Although Frederick Mercer Hunter provides no description for stick-gatherers, the woman’s ragged clothing and pose may have been intended to demonstrate that she is what Hunter describes on p. 33 as a ‘low-born Somali or [negro] (Jarbarti)’who undertakes ‘scavengers’ work’.The woman, posed in a studio with rocks about her feet and carrying a long walking stick, appears bent over under the weight of the bundle of sticks she is carrying. A twisted rope binds the sticks together and forms a harness about her upper torso. The woman is blind or has an eye condition which has clouded her retinas.Inscriptions:In pencil, upper left corner adjacent to print: ‘12’1 albumen printDimensions:87 x 55 mm [portrait]Format:1 albumen print pasted to backing paper and mounted between pp. 130-31Materials:Silver printing-out paper, albumen printCondition:The print is unevenly hand-cut, with one surface adhesion of card in the upper left corner along the left-hand edge. Dark spotting and streaking throughout the upper half of the image originate in the printing process.Foliation:‘12’Process:Albumen print
Despatch by Major-General James Marshall Stewart, the General Officer Commanding, Aden Field Force, addressed to the Chief of the General Staff, Army Headquarters, Simla.The file comprises copies of two letters containing a summary of the operations of the Aden Field Force for the period 1 April 1918 to 31 August 1918.1 file (1 folio)This file contains a single despatch.Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 3; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Despatch by Major-General James Marshall Stewart, the General Officer Commanding, Aden Field Force, to the Chief of the General Staff, Army Headquarters, Simla.The file contains amendments to be included in a previous despatch dated 18 February 1918, in order to bring the record of operations at Aden up to 31 March 1918. It includes a paragraph on field operations, and statement of casualties in the Aden Field Force since 16 August 1917.1 file (1 folio)This file contains a single despatch.Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 3; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
This file concerns arms traffic outside of the Persian Gulf. Specifically, the document discusses what it refers to as the 'spasmodic' illicit traffic of arms (as opposed to 'systematic' traffic) which has been carried out by masters of dhows carrying other merchandise. Most of the file is concerned with the traffic of arms from Jibuti [Djibouti] – which is referred to as '
thedistributing centre [original italics]' for the arms trade outside of the Persian Gulf – to ports in the Gulf of Aden.The document provides a brief history (from a British perspective) of traffic from Jibuti in the years since the signing of the Brussels Convention in 1890. It summarises, and provides references to, letters and despatches from a number of British authorities, which discuss various issues relating to the arms trade out of Jibuti, including: the extent to which traffic at Jibuti has been regulated; the possible threat that the traffic poses to the Aden garrison; the effects of measures taken by the French to curtail the traffic from Jibuti; other possible ports of supply, such as Zanzibar, Muscat and the Aden Protectorate ports.Also discussed are the attitudes of the maritime chiefs to the arms traffic, the various preventive measures available to the Resident at Aden for dealing with the effects of the traffic at Aden, an account of measures taken both by the British Somaliland authorities and by the Italian authorities, and an evaluation of the naval measures taken by the British since 1901. The file concludes by noting that one possible solution to the problem could be the deployment of armed dhows, a measure which previously has been advocated by the naval authorities, the Viceroy and the Resident at Aden.The document is attributed to P H D [P H Dumbell, Reading Clerk to the Council, India Office].1 file (10 folios)The file consists of a single document which retains its original order, as evidenced by an original pagination sequence.Foliation: the foliation sequence commences at the first folio and terminates at the last folio; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: the file also contains an original printed pagination sequence.
Genre/Subject Matter:This photograph gives a general view of the settlement at Steamer Point, seen from the neighbouring hillside, with the government coaling station on the foreshore and the peninsula of Little Aden visible on the horizon beyond.The crescent of one to three storey buildings in the middleground was named after H. R. H. the Prince of Wales – according to Frederick Mercer Hunter, ‘in memory of his visit to the settlement in November 1875’ (p. 9). Hunter goes on to describe the facilities and features of this part of the settlement, including two hotels, a police station and the ‘residences of a few consuls’. Along the shoreline just left of the centre of the image, several horse and carriages are visible.To the far right of the image, the landing pier can be seen. Mercer describes this as ‘covered in by a cast-iron shed, with corrugated roof, where six twelve-pounder guns are placed for saluting purposes’. By dating the erection of the shed to 1876, Hunter establishes the likely date of this image as 1876 or later. Two large ships, at least one a three-master, can be seen at anchor. In the centre background of the image a further three-master can be seen beyond the farthest bluff.Inscriptions:In pencil, upper left corner adjacent to print: ‘11’1 albumen printDimensions:167 x 228 mm [landscape]Format:1 albumen print pasted to backing paper and mounted, folded between pp. 98-99Materials:Silver printing-out paper, albumen printCondition:The print is unevenly hand-cut. There is significant toning at all edges, extending inwards. Some spot toning extends even further towards the central fold.A stain 1.5 cm from upper and 2.5 cm from right is likely caused by pencil.Foliation:‘11’Process:Albumen print
Genre/Subject Matter:This photograph shows an urban topographical scene in the capital of Lahej, about 30 miles (45 km) from Aden, which is referred to here as Al-Hautah (also: al Hota, al Hawtah) but is probably the town known today as Lahej/Lahij.Despite being surrounded by desert ‘to within three or four miles’ of the town, in this volume Frederick Mercer Hunter describes the town itself as being surrounded by cultivation, in particular of ‘red and white jowarî, sesame, vegetables, grass, and a little cotton’ as well as ‘date-palms, and badâm or wild almond trees’ (p. 155). So fertile was the landscape around the town, that the British bought some land near it in order to grow vegetables for the garrison at Aden (p. 68).As recently as 1872–73, the Ottoman Turks had made their presence felt in Lahej: according to Hunter, the eldest brother of the Sultan, Abdullah bin Mohsin, had ‘intrigued with the Turks, and invited them to occupy their fortified house at Al-Hautah’. In response, the Government of India decided to occupy the Lahej territory to ‘support the Lahej Sultan’. The stand-off lasted until the end of the year, when the Ottoman troops withdrew. The fortified house in question is the structure visible in the background on the left of the image.An excavated area and tumble-down walls take up most of the foreground, while a number of several-storeyed, crenellated structures occupy the horizon behind low-brick-walled enclosures. In the right lower corner of the image bricks can be seen stacked in a sequence of chevrons alongside some flat slabs, forming a rectangular paved area.In the middle-ground, toward the left of the image in the right foreground, are a donkey and five laden camels. Two figures stand on raised ground alongside the camel furthest to the right; the figure on the right appears to be wearing white, European-style clothing.1 albumen printDimensions:170 x 231 mm [portrait]Format:1 albumen print pasted to backing paper and mounted, folded, between pp. 166–167Materials:Silver printing-out paper, albumen printCondition:The print is unevenly hand-cut. There is significant toning at all edges, extending inwards towards the central fold. Some tracing marks are evident along the left-hand and lower edge.Some dark spot staining originating in the printing phase are evident throughout.Foliation:No folio number noted. [15]Process:Albumen print
Imprint:Published by John Walker Geographer to the Honble. East India Company. Engraved by J.&C. Walker.Distinctive Features:Relief shown by gradient tints.Depths shown by soundings recorded in fathoms at low water.Includes note on survey’s execution and observations with surveyors’ and assistants’ names reported, signed by S.B. Haines.In the upper portion of plate three sketches: ‘Land forming the West.n side of Bunder Fuggum’, ‘From the vessel at anchor in 15 f.ms off Bunder Sheik’ and ‘Gibbul Shumsan from the Vessel at Anchor in Aden eastern bay’.Original drawings at IOR/X/3224/2.1 map sheetDimensions:618 x 872 mm, on sheet 706 x 920 mm
A memorandum, written by Adolphus Warburton Moore, Assistant Secretary of the Political and Secret Department of the India Office, 1 September 1879.The document is a summary of correspondence, government reports, and published literature relating to the Turkish expedition into El Hassa [Al Hasa] in 1871, and was compiled in light of a proposed comprehensive arrangement with the Porte about the positions of the two powers along the Gulf coast, and policing responsibilities at sea. The correspondence is from the period 1870-1874 and is principally between various British Government departments and offices connected to the region, and the Turkish Government.The Turkish expedition called into question the sovereignty and jurisdiction of much of the Arabian Peninsula, as well as the coastline and islands of the Gulf. The correspondence contains discussions of these matters and reflects British fears of a loss of their monopoly over the control and security of the Gulf, and a disruption of the treaty relations they maintained with rulers in Bahrein [Bahrain], Guttur [Qatar], the Trucial Coast, Muscat, and Aden.The author quotes extensively from the correspondence and other sources, notes on which are to be found in the margin throughout.1 file (14 folios)Foliation: the foliation for this description commences at folio 131 and terminates at folio 144, as it is part of a larger physical volume; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio. The main foliation sequence commences at the front cover, and terminates at the back cover; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto side of each folio.Pagination: The volume also contains an original printed pagination sequence.Condition: folio 131 is torn along one edge, with some loss of text.
Genre/Subject Matter:View, looking south, of a mountainous landscape through the Main Pass at Aden, the main route into Crater, towards a hill riddled with caves, one of which is likely to be the cave reputed to hold the tomb of Abel.A steep slope or series of steps leads towards the pass at centre. Two figures look away from the viewer in the foreground. At left several camels are being led away from the pass. Several houses are evident at left, as well as fortifications at right.Temporal context:This drawing was likely made during Henry Yule’s return journey to India with his new wife, Anna Maria White, in 1844.Inscriptions:Recto:Lower left, pen and ink: ‘The Main Paſs at Aden Jany 1844’Upper right, ink stamp: ‘20’Verso:Centre, ink stamp: ‘India Office Library 12 Dec 1919’Upper right, pencil: ‘34’1 pen and ink and wash drawing on watercolour paperDimensions:346 x 247 mmMaterials:Pen, ink and wash on watercolour paperCondition:Thick surface dirt throughout, especially at left and on recto with staining originating from adhesive on left edge. Upper right corner is lost.