Picturing Africa: Illustrating Livingstone's explorations

Helped by artists, photographers, engravers and publishers, 19th-century Scottish missionary explorer David Livingstone created some of the most interesting and iconic images of Africa. Illustrations ranged from the terror of lion attacks and the horrors of slavery to the abundant wildlife and the magnificence of Victoria Falls. David McClay, Curator of this summer's Livingstone exhibition at NLS, examines how the images were used to make the explorer's books bestsellers, and were reproduced in biographies, newspapers and magic lantern slides.

The exhibtion recounts the difficulties encountered by photographer John Kirk and artist Thomas Baines, including the transportation of heavy equipment and inhospitable, hot and humid conditions.