Photograph Album of Trooper Herbert Stephen Henderson VC – Rhodesia Horse – Henderson, Trooper Herbert Stephen

Photograph album of Trooper Herbert Stephen Henderson (1870-1942), of the “Rhodesia Horse”, Bulawayo Field Force. Henderson was the first person to receive the Victoria Cross on Rhodesian soil. He had saved the life of an injured member of his unit when guiding him through 56km of hostile Matabele territory outside Bulawayo. He was presented his Victoria Cross by Lord Milner at the opening of the Bulawayo Railway on 4 November 1897. Trooper Henderson’s daughter-in-law, Norma Henderson of Alstonville, New South Wales had inherited the album. On her passing she left it to a friend of South African origin, asking that it be taken back to South Africa. This was duly done and is how we acquired it. We sold it to a private collector in about 2006 and purchased it back from him in late 2025. There are 33 full-page photographs. Some marked in the negative with N.V.T. photo or S.T. Rhodesia photo Co. Or J.E.M. There are 38 postcard size photographs and 51 smaller photos. Images of Rhodesia and some of Grahamstown. Four of English actresses. Execution of spies at Bulawayo – an alternative image of the infamous scene used as the frontis for Olive Schreiner’s book Trooper Peter Halket of Mashonaland (1897). The controversial image being expurgated from later copies of the book. Images of diamond mining, portraits of the Matabele and a group photo including Rhodes. Photos of Henderson’s VC and three of a cricket match titled English vs Mashonalalnd. Possibly Lord Hawkes XI tour to Rhodesia in 1899. Some wear and cockling to the album boards. A few with chipped edges and some marks. Photographs generally in very good condition. Bound in a new half leather binding with cloth covered boards. First Edition. Condition: Good. Binding: Hardcover.

Date Published: circa 1890s
Publication Place: Rhodesia
First Edition: Yes

Condition: Good.
Binding: Hardcover.