The urge we have as humans to explore beyond our locale and venture to new territories seems to be some kind of primal impulse propelling us toward the possibility of expansion and gain. The archaeological record of human history shows us that humans have been traveling beyond our homes to engage in trade, ceremony, or adventure since our beginnings and today’s patterns of travel are not different. One form of travel that has been especially current in human history has been adventure travel and exploration and one most recent manifestation of this has been the instantly recognizable and stylized figure of the safari explorer.

‘Safari’ is derived from the Arabic ’safara’ and means ‘to make a journey’ and has its origins in the trading practices of millennia between Arabs and Africans whose merchants would traffic in goods as well as in slaves and whose safaris would extend beyond Africa and Arabia, reaching India, China and eventually Europe. The more modern connotation of safari that Westerners appreciate in perhaps a more benign light derives from the introduction of the British into the arena of African trade and exploration during their colonial period. Along with their political involvement in Africa and India, the British colonialists became engaged with the natural environment in a manner that would expand Westerner’s notions of classification as well as conservation of nature. Though much was made of the Western hunting expeditions into Africa and India, a new culture of ecological awareness would emerge alongside it.

The idea and image of the European hunter and/or naturalist on expedition in the heartland of a foreign continent lives on in the costume of the safari explorer as bedecked in khakis, pith helmets, and multi-pocketed vests. The safari expeditionist would wear the muted beige and brown or olive colors in their clothing to better camouflage themselves in their environs during an African safari and the helmets, shaped from the light weight core (pith) of a particular tree, would protect them from sun and water exposure. As the European explorers ventured into new territory with their safari expeditions they also documented and glorified their discoveries in record-keeping and literature that found its way back to the continent in ways that would ingrain themselves in the European imagination. Even though we may not wear the same costume in our contemporary expeditions being the global travelers that we are, the image of the safari traveler is an endearing one that still has resonance.

Image: President Roosevelt on African Safari
image: Emile Gorlia photograph, Safari, cl. 1910 (Smithsonian Institute)

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The evolution of society invariably altered the customs and cultures of our ancestors while leaving a multitude of relics in its wake. We offer our patrons a grand selection of museum quality replicas that we hope will awaken a interest in those bygone eras. Choose from reenactment gear, historical display items, functional technology reproductions, replica ships and many more items!

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