FIG. 22 (above): Rudolf or
Helene Oldenburg,
Haussa-Weib zu Pferd
(Hausa Woman on
Horseback), 1907–1913.
Silver gelatin print, 11 x 15.5 cm.
Weltmuseum Wien, Fotosammlung,
inv. VF 17213.
142
nized that the prints he made of his photographs
could be a source of income (fi g. 4).5 In 1917,
for example, he sold more than 400 “copies” of
pictures of French Guinea and Cameroon to the
Völkerkunde Museum in Leipzig, including two
photographs of portrait plaster casts.6 Some of
these photos have now been digitized. Most of
the negative plates for the Oldenburg prints in
Leipzig and many other institutions—some 919
images in all—are now in the photography collection
of the Weltmuseum
in Vienna, though
this does not represent
the entire Oldenburg
oeuvre.7
Oldenburg is also recorded
as the collector
of more than 900 postcards
now held in the
Viennese archives (inv.
numbers VP 1 through
VP 908). However, it is
clear when examining
them that some of them
are images taken from
Oldenburg’s photos,
again demonstrating
his interest in marketing
his images.
O l d e n b u r g ’ s
work as a manager
for the Deutsche
Kamerungesellschaft
starting in 1907
necessitated the couple
living and traveling
in various parts of
Cameroon. They initially lived in Douala
and then in Kouti, where there was fi rst an
experimental land management project and then
a trading post. Kouti is about fi fteen kilometers
southwest of Fumban, the capital of Bamum,8
and a number of the photos the Oldenburgs
took in Bamum—especially those featuring the
Bamum leader Sultan Njoya—have become
iconic (fi gs. 6 and 14).9
Various kinds of courtly dress can be seen in
some of the Oldenburg’s photos. Some of these
garments were produced by local weavers, tailors,
and bead workers, while others were obtained
through trade with the Hausa, and yet
others were imported from Germany. Some
were locally made in German style. They attest
to the prevalence of a multifaceted self-image
among the members of the ruling class. Much
can be learned from the various styles of dress in
these images. For example, several images show
Njoya and his courtiers in locally produced German
hussar uniforms (fi g. 14). However, after an
upheaval in 1909, Njoya appears in Fulbe/Hausa
attire, demonstrating a political transition.
The Oldenburgs traveled extensively throughout
the Cameroonian Grasslands and they photographed
the common people as well as the
elites. Their images record that outside of the
capital of Fumban people did not adhere to the
courtly dress code and that every Grasslands
chiefdom had its particular types of apparel.
The entry about Rudolf Oldenburg in
Österreichisches Biographisches Lexikon states
that he collected 643 valuable objects from the
Cameroon Grasslands and particularly from
Bamum, the latter thanks to his friendship with
King Njoya.10 This relationship was complicated
and stems from a previous arrangement between
the fon of the Bali-Nyonga and his German
allies. The few Europeans that were stationed in
the Cameroonian Grasslands were dependent on
the support of local chiefs. As their relationship
with the Bali king deteriorated, the colonial
authorities privileged their connections with
their “partner” Njoya beginning in 1902. He
became responsible for providing plantation
workers and porters for the transportation of
wares to the coast. Just as the Bali king had,
Njoya hoped that this pact would help cement
and extend his power in the region.11
In the fi nal years of the German colonial administration,
it became clear that Njoya and his
kingdom were profi ting very little from its presence.
The construction of a promised railroad
was cancelled and confl icts with traders were
increasing. Njoya sought help from missionaries
to break the Europeans’ monopoly on commercial
activity. He tried to organize his own
trade caravans, but the government prevented
him from doing so. Relations grew ever more
strained, and Bamum eventually came under
the control of a permanently stationed colonial
administration that was headquartered in Kou-
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