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Selections from the
Rex B. Grey Collection |
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For centuries, Africa has been a place of mystery and wonder in the European imagination, largely unknown and misunderstood. Although the ancient Mediterranean world encompassed much of North Africa, it was not until after the fifteenth century, when Portuguese naval exploration reached Africa's southern and eastern shores, that the entire continent began to "open up" to Europe. Explorers pushed inland, "discovering" natural features, unfamiliar plants and animals, and encountering native peoples. Initial contact often led to exploitation, as Europeans sought wealth in the resources of the land and in the African people themselves through the slave trade. Missionary activity took root as European Christians saw in Africa a chance to spread their faith. Finally, widespread colonization followed, with Europeans from many countries settling permanently in Africa. By the nineteenth century, colonialism had become a reality-- a reality that continues to affect the linguistic, geographic, and cultural landscape even today.
It was during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, after European contact but before transportation technology made widespread settlement a reality, that Africa truly began to find a place in the popular imagination of Europe. Missionaries, explorers, traders, and soldiers from many European countries left their mark on the continent, carrying their stories back to their homelands. Stories and images of bizarre peoples, plants, and animals, often embellished for effect, were published and republished, translated, and abridged to reach every possible market. For the first time in history, average Europeans could see, in words and images, the likeness of African people and animals. These likenesses, however, were reflected through numerous sets of European eyes: the authors, illustrators, printers, and publishers of stories about Africa. This selection of books was chosen for their importance as reflections of European attitudes toward Africa before colonialism was fully entrenched. These works comprise a small part of the collection of Rex B. Grey, Texas A & M Class of 1941. Mr. Grey, who for many years directed ITT's African and Middle Eastern operations, assembled an impressive collection of African art and an outstanding library on the history and exploration of Africa. In these books, we see both the fantastical and the scientific, the beautiful and the frightening, the noble and the despicable. Donated by his family to the Cushing Memorial Library, this fine collection of books helps further the mission of the library and assures the volumes a valued place in Aggieland. Beth M. Russell |
ŠTHE CUSHING MEMORIAL LIBRARY OF TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY