Di Tɛm ɛn TɔriSierra Leone archive

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Old photographs, stamps and film · to 1561

Beforetheslavetrade

190 items

← Old photographs, stamps and film

Many were made by colonial officials, missionaries and foreign visitors. Titles and descriptions come from the collections that hold them and can carry the attitudes and language of their time. We show them as historical records, not as endorsements. Dates, eras and categories were assigned automatically from those records and some will be wrong. If you or your family appear in a picture, you hold rights to one, a detail is wrong, or you think a picture should not be here, press “Report this picture” under it: your note reaches our editors with the picture attached, and they can take it down straight away. You can also write to hello@dt-ets.com.

№ 01

Before the written record

Stone tools from rock shelters, nomoli figures turned up in farms, iron smelters, and the ivory carvings Sapi artists made for Portuguese traders in the 1400s and 1500s.

Figure (Africa, West Africa, Sierra Leone, Sapi-style carver) — Figure (Africa, West Africa, Sierra Leone, Sapi-style carver) possibly early 1400s
Africa, West Africa, Sierra Leone, Sapi-style carver artist · Public domain (CC0) · Cleveland Museum of Art · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Figure of a Man Holding a Crocodile — Figure of a Man Holding a Crocodile 15th century or earlier
Unknown author Unknown author · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Hunting horn, Sapi-Portuguese style, Bullom or Temne peoples, Sierra Leone, Late 15th century, Ivory, metal (2922770551) — Hunting horn, Sapi-Portuguese style, Bullom or Temne peoples, Sierra Leone, Late 15th century, Ivory, metal (2922770551) late 1400s
Cliff from Arlington, Virginia, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Spoon with figure (Temne or Bullom) — Spoon with figure (Temne or Bullom) ca. 1490–1530
Temne or Bullom artist(s) · Public domain (CC0) · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Lidded saltcellar (Temne or Bullom peoples) — Lidded saltcellar (Temne or Bullom peoples) ca. 1490–1530
Temne or Bullom artist(s) · Public domain (CC0) · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Saltcellar Base (Temne or Bullom peoples) — Saltcellar Base (Temne or Bullom peoples) ca. 1490–1530
Temne or Bullom artist(s) · Public domain (CC0) · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Oliphant (side-blown horn) (Temne or Bullom peoples) — Oliphant (side-blown horn) (Temne or Bullom peoples) ca. 1490–1530
Temne or Bullom artist(s) · Public domain (CC0) · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Sapi ivory horn (oliphant), c. 1490–1510 — Sapi ivory horn (oliphant), c. 1490–1510
Sailko · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Ivory pyx carved by a Sapi artist in Sierra Leone for Portuguese traders, 1490–1530 — Ivory pyx carved by a Sapi artist in Sierra Leone for Portuguese traders, 1490–1530 1490–1530
Anonymous ( Sierra Leone ) Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Afro-Portuguese ivory horn, Sherbro, c. 1500–25 (1) — Afro-Portuguese ivory horn, Sherbro, c. 1500–25 (1)
Sailko · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Afro-Portuguese ivory horn, Sherbro, c. 1500–25 (2) — Afro-Portuguese ivory horn, Sherbro, c. 1500–25 (2)
Sailko · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Afro-Portuguese ivory horn, Sherbro, c. 1500–25 (3) — Afro-Portuguese ivory horn, Sherbro, c. 1500–25 (3)
Sailko · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

№ 02

Towns, streets and buildings

Where people lived: streets, markets, houses, churches and mosques, and the villages upcountry.

Close-up of the remains of a stone-walled house at the deserted hilltop defensive site of Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1891925947) — Close-up of the remains of a stone-walled house at the deserted hilltop defensive site of Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1891925947) 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Old Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) 1967 68 (402035543) — Old Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) 1967 68 (402035543) 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Remains of a stone-walled house at the deserted hilltop defensive site of Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (402035324) — Remains of a stone-walled house at the deserted hilltop defensive site of Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (402035324) 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Remains of stone-walled houses at the deserted hilltop defensive site of Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1892780770) — Remains of stone-walled houses at the deserted hilltop defensive site of Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1892780770) 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Rocks and Vegetation at the hilltop site of Old Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1936858390) — Rocks and Vegetation at the hilltop site of Old Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1936858390) 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Yagala (new town) from Kakeleia, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (860243542) — Yagala (new town) from Kakeleia, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (860243542) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

№ 03

Farming, food and trade

Rice farms, palm oil and kernels, fishing nets and traps, cooking, shops, mines and markets: the work that fed the country and paid its way.

Dominic (centre) and me resting in a banana grove after cutting a new trail down the mountain from Old Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1 — Dominic (centre) and me resting in a banana grove after cutting a new trail down the mountain from Old Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Bored Stones from Sierra Leone (West Africa) (2422090592) — Bored Stones from Sierra Leone (West Africa) (2422090592) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Limba hunters trap south of Kamabai, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1694996394) — Limba hunters trap south of Kamabai, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1694996394) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Palm nuts waiting to be processed near Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1892479464) — Palm nuts waiting to be processed near Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1892479464) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Young boy learning how to make stone tools, Kamabai, Sierra Leone (West Africa) 1968 (1127757541) — Young boy learning how to make stone tools, Kamabai, Sierra Leone (West Africa) 1968 (1127757541) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Kimberlite (Koidu Kimberlite Complex, Jurassic; Yengema-Koiu area, eastern Sierra Leone, West Africa) — Kimberlite (Koidu Kimberlite Complex, Jurassic; Yengema-Koiu area, eastern Sierra Leone, West Africa)
James St. John · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Stone-lined pit, probably for extracting palm oil, near Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1679217561) — Stone-lined pit, probably for extracting palm oil, near Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1679217561) Photographed 1967 or 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Kimberlite (Koidu Kimberlite Complex, Jurassic; Yengema-Koidu area, Sierra Leone, West Africa) 2 — Kimberlite (Koidu Kimberlite Complex, Jurassic; Yengema-Koidu area, Sierra Leone, West Africa) 2
James St. John · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

№ 04

Masks, societies and faith

The Sande (Bondo) and Poro societies and their masquerades, nomoli and minsereh figures, and the churches and mosques. Pictures of society matters stay behind a notice, out of respect.

Head (Temne or Bullom) — Head (Temne or Bullom) 12th–16th century
Temne or Bullom artist(s) · Public domain (CC0) · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Seated Figure (Temne or Bullom peoples) — Seated Figure (Temne or Bullom peoples) 12th–16th century
Temne or Bullom artist(s) · Public domain (CC0) · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Seated male figure (Temne or Bullom peoples) — Seated male figure (Temne or Bullom peoples) 12th–16th century
Temne or Bullom artist(s) · Public domain (CC0) · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Head (Temne or Bullom peoples) — Head (Temne or Bullom peoples) 12th–16th century
Temne or Bullom artist(s) · Public domain (CC0) · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Female Figure (Africa, West Africa, Sierra Leone, Sherbro-style maker) — Female Figure (Africa, West Africa, Sierra Leone, Sherbro-style maker) 1500s
Africa, West Africa, Sierra Leone, Sherbro-style maker artist · Public domain (CC0) · Cleveland Museum of Art · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Female Figure (Africa, West Africa, Sierra Leone, Sherbro Island, unknown maker) — Female Figure (Africa, West Africa, Sierra Leone, Sherbro Island, unknown maker) 1500s
Africa, West Africa, Sierra Leone, Sherbro Island, unknown maker artist · Public domain (CC0) · Cleveland Museum of Art · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Bottom of clay pot, Kabala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) — Bottom of clay pot, Kabala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) Taken in 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Smiling girl, Mandingo lady, and her large clay pot, Kabala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (491581387) — Smiling girl, Mandingo lady, and her large clay pot, Kabala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (491581387) 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Top of clay pot, Kabala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (2255787682) — Top of clay pot, Kabala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (2255787682) 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Carved stone figure from Sierra Leone at the Africana Museum, Cuttington College, Suakoko, Liberia (West Africa) (2136295008) — Carved stone figure from Sierra Leone at the Africana Museum, Cuttington College, Suakoko, Liberia (West Africa) (2136295008) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Carved stone figure from Sierra Leone or Liberia at the Africana Museum, Cuttington College, Suakoko, Liberia (West Africa) (2158765449) — Carved stone figure from Sierra Leone or Liberia at the Africana Museum, Cuttington College, Suakoko, Liberia (West Africa) (2158765449) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

№ 05

Chiefs, leaders and public life

Paramount chiefs and their courts, governors and presidents, independence, parades, rallies and the law.

Chiefs chair at the now deserted and overgrown hilltop site of old Yagala, Sierra Leone (west Africa) (2321508092) — Chiefs chair at the now deserted and overgrown hilltop site of old Yagala, Sierra Leone (west Africa) (2321508092) 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Dominic sitting on stone chiefs seat in overgrown area of Old Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (2046974061) — Dominic sitting on stone chiefs seat in overgrown area of Old Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (2046974061) 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Remains of a stone-walled house at the deserted hilltop defensive site of Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (2061308840) — Remains of a stone-walled house at the deserted hilltop defensive site of Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (2061308840) 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

№ 06

Ships, rails and roads

How people and goods moved: canoes and steamers, the railway (1896–1974), lorries, bridges and the airport.

Car wash 2, Kamabai, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (2024309383) — Car wash 2, Kamabai, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (2024309383) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Kamabai car wash crew (557391706) — Kamabai car wash crew (557391706) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Loading the VW in the rain, Kamabai, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (2026461974) — Loading the VW in the rain, Kamabai, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (2026461974) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

№ 07

Land, water and wildlife

Mountains, rivers, beaches, forests and the animals and birds that live in them.

Rock art from Sierra Leone (West Africa) (748135469) — Rock art from Sierra Leone (West Africa) (748135469) 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Work area under a tree near Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (748459065) — Work area under a tree near Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (748459065) 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

African Ants, 1968 (2300571943) — African Ants, 1968 (2300571943) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Cave at Old Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1888331417) — Cave at Old Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1888331417) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Tree near Old Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1888345923) — Tree near Old Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1888345923) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Tree on rock near Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (465203454) — Tree on rock near Yagala, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (465203454) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

№ 08

Faces and names

Portraits and gatherings: people photographed by others, most of them still unnamed. If you know someone here, tell us.

Children with umbilical hernias, Sierra Leone (West Africa), 1967 — Children with umbilical hernias, Sierra Leone (West Africa), 1967 1967
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Neighbor, Kamabai, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (464352047) — Neighbor, Kamabai, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (464352047) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture

Young Fula (Peul) woman (with child on her back --- note feet), Kamabai, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1043634634) — Young Fula (Peul) woman (with child on her back --- note feet), Kamabai, Sierra Leone (West Africa) (1043634634) 1968
John Atherton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons · Source ↗ · Report this picture