Second Boer War Stereoviews of British Field Operations in South Africa, 1899 to 1900

Boer War

Photograph

Imperial war stereoview cards from the Second Boer War, documenting British military transport, entrenchment, artillery deployment, refugee evacuation, and camp provisioning in South Africa, circa 1899 to 1900. Published for commercial circulation, the cards include infantry crossing rivers under observation, Royal Engineers rebuilding destroyed transport routes, naval guns hauled inland for Lord Roberts’ advance on Pretoria, refugees leaving Kimberley after the siege, and soldiers occupying trenches, kopjes, and gun positions across contested ground. Named sites including Colesberg, Modder River, the Orange River, Naauwpoort, Norval’s Pont, the Vet River, Dordrecht, Gras Pan, Kimberley, and the Zand River identify locations across the northern and central campaigns.

Photo archive of 16 albumen stereoview photographs, each 7 x 3.5 inches, South Africa, circa 1899 to 1900. Mounted stereographs include “Baking bread in the field ovens, British camp at Naauwpoort, South Africa,” with uniformed men working beside rough camp ovens and stacked fuel; “The Last Drop, a scene on the battlefield at Dordrecht, South Africa, Dec. 30th,” centered on a fallen soldier being given water among boulders; trench views captioned “Behind the Orange River intrenchments holding back the bravely advancing Boers” and “Royal Munster Fusiliers firing from behind redoubt at Honey Nest Kloof”; “When the cannon’s roar is still,” with soldiers sleeping fully armed before Colesberg; and “Cape Garrison Artillery cannonading the dauntless Boers across Modder River,” with British guns emplaced among rocks above the river line. Other cards include “First train of refugees out of Kimberley after the siege,” crowded with civilians riding atop rail cars; “Royal Engineers building temporary railway bridge beside that destroyed by the retreating Boers, Rhenoster River”; “Lord Roberts’ infantry crossing the Zand River, balloon watching ahead for the Boers”; “The Worcesters leading the attack on a kopje held by the Boers, Norval’s Pont”; “British Scouts firing on a Boer Patrol near Colesberg”; “Gallant storming of a Boer kopje by the Suffolks at Colesberg”; and “The dying bugler’s last call, a battlefield incident, Gras Pan.” Versos carry printed captions in English with parallel translations in French, German, Spanish, Russian, and Italian.

Stereoview cards issued by Underwood & Underwood present the Boer War conflict between the British Empire and the Boer republics over control of South Africa, including political power, territory, and the gold-rich Transvaal, with Britain fighting to consolidate imperial rule and the Boers fighting to preserve their independence. The cards include trench fighting, kopje assaults, siege relief, rail repair, artillery transport, and refugee movement as recorded across the named campaign sites. Multilingual captions in English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, and Italian accompany scenes of battlefield action, engineering work, and military transport circulated for an international market. Light general wear and minor age toning; one card penciled “1949” on verso; overall good condition. Including multilingual versos, named campaign scenes, and subjects including refugees, battlefield casualties, trench action, rail repair, artillery, and balloon reconnaissance across Colesberg, Modder River, the Orange River, Naauwpoort, Norval’s Pont, the Vet River, Dordrecht, Gras Pan, Kimberley, and the Zand River.

Item #23190

Price: $680.00