ABSTRACT
In the preface of the book on her travels in Egypt, Amelia B. Edwards praised the engraver’s work and stated that some of the blocks “may stand for examples of the farthest point to which the art of engraving upon wood has yet been carried”.1 Indeed, despite the different medium, a number of the illustrations reproduced on the pages of the examined books are almost exact copies of the original travel pictures. In most cases, however, pictures have been altered for the purpose of book illustration. In comparison to the pervasive technical modifi cations described in the previous chapter, these alterations were more deliberate and purposeful in character and did not apply equally to all pictures. On numerous occasions, the changes are infi nitesimal and can only be noticed when the original and the reproduction can be compared at the same time. On other occasions, however, everything is turned upside down and no discernible link between the two seems to exist. These modifi cations had a direct and powerful effect on the manner in which central Africa was eventually represented to the European public.
