King Bell - Ndumb´a Lobe
King Bell bottom right (blurred): King Bell Cameroon(?)
The photo collage on the right shows the king of the Duala people, Ndumbé Lobé (1839–1897), who was one of the signatories of the “protection treaty” with the German Empire.
At the time of Dr. Ipscher's stay in Cameroon, his son August Manga Ndumbe Bell (1851–1908) was King of the Duala, who valued good cooperation with the colonial administration but also protested against its brutal actions.
In 1902, he led a Cameroonian delegation to Germany to protest to the Kaiser against the measures of the colonial administration.
The photo on the left could be Rudolf Duala Manga Bell, grandson of Ndumbé Lobé and son of August Manga Ndumbe Bell.
He was king of the Duala from 1908 until his execution by the colonial authorities in 1914 and is considered a martyr for his resistance.
Duala Pagoda
King August Manga Ndumbe Bell had the palace in the center of Douala built by German architects.
It was completed in 1905 and its design is based on Indian and Asian architectural styles that were popular in Europe around 1900. The building is called “the Pagoda,” as it is referred to in the novel “Voyage au bout de la nuit” (Journey to the end of the night) of the French writer Louis-Ferdinand Céline who stayed in Cameroon in 1916–1917.
The courtyard of the residence now houses the tomb of the Duala kings.
(Source: Wikipedia)
Duala - Old Palace
Manga Bell's House The palace is located in the historical and administrative district of Bonanjo, formerly known as the Joss Plateau.
The old Bell House
Other sources indicate that the funeral of King August Manga Ndumbe Bell took place in front of the two palaces in 1908.
Our photo may have been taken from a window of the "Pagoda." It can also be found in the Basel Mission archives, photographer unknown, titled "Bellstadt."
The Photographer's House
House of William Bell Photograph, Cameroon
William Mudisa Bell is mentioned as one of the indigenous photographers based in Cameroon for the period from 1890 to 1910.
In the Basel Mission archive, two photos are attributed to this photographer, who has stamped some of his photos with his own stamp.
Country and people
ivory traders
Kribi: Women preparing cassada (cassada: another name for manioc)
Children from Belltown (Duala)
Helmsman of the Basel Mission pinnace
The only nature photo
Elephant Lake near Mandame, autumn 1900
Barombi Mbo, also called Elephant Lake during Ipscher’s time.
The station “Johann-Albrechts-Höhe” was built on the lake in 1895, named after the president of the German Colonial Society, Johann Albrecht von Mecklenburg.
It is the only nature photograph from the estate.