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Group Portrait of Six Men in the Onitsha Area

Image Portraits
A photograph depicting six men in the Onitsha area wearing waist wraps and holding curved blades and rods.
Six men posing in the Onitsha area, photographed by William Henry Crosse for the Royal Niger Company, circa 1886 to 1895.

A monochromatic photograph from circa 1886 to 1895 showing six male subjects in a linear arrangement in a wooded outdoor environment. The subjects wear various waist wraps, some featuring geometric patterns, and several utilize headwraps or caps. Two subjects hold large, curved, single-edged blades, while others hold long, thin rods or implements. The image was taken by William Henry Crosse, Principal Medical Officer of the Royal Niger Company, and was later identified by G.I. Jones as depicting individuals in the Onitsha area, potentially related to blacksmiths or other crafts. The photograph was produced as a glass negative halfplate and was associated with the collection of Rev. Charles Henry Robinson, who published Crosse's work in Nigeria: Our Latest Protectorate (1900).

Community Notes

Onyeka Nwokike

Aug 30, 2026

The photograph was originally cataloged under the G.I. Jones Collection because it was found in a wooden box (numbered C330/) featuring his handwriting. A note accompanying the series described the subjects as "Arts and crafys plays, Blacksmiths etc. ?Onitsha area Houses (not Onitsha)". However, research indicated the images were produced between 1886 and 1895, preceding Jones' first tour in 1926. According to MAA Cambridge, the work was later re-attributed to William Henry Crosse after matching the negative to other series and lantern slides.

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