Quarto (ca. 29.5 x 23.5 cm or 11 ½ x 9 ¼ in). 35 cardstock leaves (five blank). 79 mounted photographs from ca. 24.5 x 19 cm (9 ½ x 7 ½ in) to 7.5 x 7.5 cm (3 x 3 in); most albumen, seven gelatin silver (showing Jamaica). 72 photographs with period ink captions on mounts. 15 photographs captioned, numbered, or signed in negative (14 signed by P. Salviati). Period black half morocco album with cloth boards and gilt-tooled borders; moire endpapers; all edges gilt. Cloth boards with minor staining, edges and spine mildly rubbed; mounts waved and with foxing, two mounts with tears at margin, five mounts with tears or losses on corners not affecting images; a few photos mildly faded, one image with minor loss; but overall a very good album of interesting photos.

A collection of albumen and gelatin silver photographs showing the HMS Sparrow (1889) in service off the coast of West Africa and in the South Atlantic during the early 1890s, compiled by one H. W. Simms, likely a Royal Navy officer who served on the Sparrow.

27 photographs show Saint Helena, a British territory in the South Atlantic. They include views of Jamestown, Breakneck Valley, Hutt’s Gate, Sandy Bay, Rosemary Hall, and Plantation House (the governor’s residence). Several photographs of Saint Helena show sites related to Napoleon Bonaparte’s exile at the end of his life: the Valley of the Tomb, where Napoleon was originally interred; The Briars, Napoleon’s temporary residence when he first arrived on Saint Helena; Longwood House, Napoleon’s residence until his death in 1821; Bertrand’s Cottage, residence of General Henri Bertrand when he followed Napoleon in exile; and New Longwood House, completed shortly after the death of Napoleon and demolished in the 1930s. The caption identifies New Longwood House as the residence of the “Morillau” [Morilleau] family, with another photograph showing members of the family. Lucien Morilleau (1835-1907) was the curator of the French domains of Saint Helena (currently Longwood House, Valley of the Tomb, and The Briars) between 1880 and 1907.

Over a dozen photographs show the activities and crew of the HMS Sparrow. They include stops on Ascension Island, Fernado Po (now Bioko, Equatorial Guinea), Annobón (Equatorial Guinea), and in Sierra Leone. They also include portraits of several officers (“Chief Engineer J. A. Murray,” “Tom Purser,” “Hoskyns,” “Jones”), the “racing boat crew,” and a native doctor from Annobón. Very interesting is a large group portrait of British naval officers posing with Union Jack flags, likely from the HMS Sparrow, captioned “Gambia Expedition 1892.” In 1892 the HMS Sparrow was tasked with launching a punitive expedition up the Gambia River against local chief Fodeh Cabbah.

Seven gelatin silver photographs show the aftermath of the 1907 Kingston earthquake in Jamaica, showing nearby Port Royal (“Coaling Pier,” “Naval Club,” and “Magistrates House”) and a street in Kingston.

Other photographs in the album include 14 studio photographs of Venice, signed in negative by local photographer P. Salviati (ca. 1818-1894); three views of Bermuda, including the city of Hamilton and a “natural arch”; and a series of photographs showing “K’s wedding day” at Fantoft Stave Church in Bergen, Norway.

Overall, a historically interesting collection of original photographs showing Saint Helena and the crew of the HMS Sparrow during the early 1890s.