Johnson, Osa / [Mrs. Martin Johnson].

Jungle Friends.

Third Edition. London, The Travel Book Club, 1944. 14.5 cm x 22 cm. 189 pages. 32 illustrations. Hardcover [publisher’s original green cloth] with gilt lettering on spine. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear. Interior bright and clean.

In the first half of the 20th century an American couple from Kansas named Martin Elmer Johnson (1884-1937) and Osa Helen Johnson (1894-1953) captured the public’s imagination through their films and books of adventure in exotic, far-away lands. Photographers, explorers, naturalists, aviators and best-selling authors, Martin and Osa studied the wildlife and peoples of East and Central Africa, the South Pacific Islands, and British North Borneo. They explored then unknown lands and, through their films, writings, and lectures, brought back knowledge of cultures thousands of miles away.
From 1917 to 1936, the Johnsons set up camp in some of the most remote areas of the world and provided an unmatched photographic record of the wildernesses of Kenya, the Congo, British North Borneo and the Solomon and New Hebrides Islands. Their equipment was the most advanced motion picture apparatus of the day, some of it designed by Martin Johnson himself. They were also pioneers in the advancing aerial photography and filming. (https://safarimuseum.com/about/martin-and-osa-johnson)

Martin Johnson died in a plane crash in California, on January 12, 1937. Osa was severely injured in the accident but made a full recovery. By October 1937, the New York Times was publishing dispatches of Osa’s latest trip to Africa, in which she described lifestyles and practices of the Maasai and other tribes. Osa is probably best known for her autobiography ‘I Married Adventure’, which was a best-seller in 1940. She died in New York City in 1953. (Wikipedia)

Their photographs represent one of the great contributions to the pictorial history of the world. Their films such as “Jungle Adventures” (1921) “Simba: King of the Jungle” (1928) and “Baboona” (1935) served to document a wilderness that has long since vanished and tribal cultures and customs that no longer exist. (https://safarimuseum.com/about/martin-and-osa-johnson)

Television’s first wildlife series, Osa Johnson’s The Big Game Hunt a.k.a. The Big Game Hunt, premiered in 1952. The 26 half-hour episodes- introduced by Osa – were released by Explorers Pictures and primarily used Johnson film. (Wikipedia)

• Keywords: Africa · Africa – Rare · Africana Collection of Rare Books · Aircraft · Airplanes · Animals · Aviation · Documentary · Film producers and directors · Films · Jungle · Nature · Nature Photography · Nature Writing · Photobooks · Photograph · Photographers · Photography of animals · Travel & Expedition – Rare · Travel Africa – Rare · Wildlife · Women · Women in Society · Women Traveller · Women Writers
• Language: English
• Inventory Number: 120130AB

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