Flaws sink 'Battle of Omdurman' print's value

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Dear Helaine and Joe:Could you please give me some information on this print. It is titled the "Battle of Omdurman Sept. 2, 1898."Thank you,B. A., Gate City, Va.Dear B. A.:We almost could not answer this question because the photos were so bad and there was not enough information given in the letter. But a good magnifying glass helped a lot, so we will give this a try.After a lot of squinting and peering, we discovered that this print was made by G. W. Bacon and Co. in London, probably in the very late 19th century or early 20th century. Further research told us that the piece should be approximately 52 by 71 centimeters (approximately 20 1/2 by 28 inches), and the original artist has been reported as either A. or R. A. Sutherland.Whichever it may be, there is virtually no information about this artist and he is certainly not a household name. G. W. Bacon and Co., however, is a different matter because it is known primarily as a printer of globes, maps and atlases.This print depicts the Battle of Omdurman, which was part of the Mahdist War in Sudan, which lasted from1881 to 1899 and was fought between Britain and Egypt, and their allies against Mahdist Sudan. This story might have been ripped from today's headlines, and begins with Sudan being invaded by an Egyptian army under Muhammad Ali in 1819.Afterward, the Sudan became a virtual colony of Egypt, and the Sudanese people resented the taxes they had to pay to a foreign government. and that government's attempts to outlaw the slave trade. Then in the 1870s, Muhammad Ahmad, a Muslim cleric, started preaching a revival of faith and freedom from Egyptian control.Ahmad declared himself to be the "Mahdi," or the savior of the Muslim world. The Egyptian controlled Sudanese leader, Raouf Pasha, decided to try and capture the "Mahdi," but he escaped and the "Jihad of the Mahdi" or the "Mahdist War" began.We are not going to go into all the details of the war, but the Battle of Omdurman, which occurred on Sept. 2, 1898, was one of the decisive engagements that brought about the eventual defeat of the followers of the Mahdi. The battle took place at Kerreri, which is located six or seven miles north of Omdurman. General Sir Horatio Kitchener defeated Abdullah al-Taashi, who was the successor to the Mahdi Muhammad Ahmad.British and the Egyptians had just 25,000 men combined and the Mahdist had twice that number, but the British prevailed. Interestingly, the depiction of the battlefield owned by B. A. is incorrect in at least one detail. The print shows the British soldiers dressed in scarlet, but they actually wore khaki colored uniforms on that fateful day.In any event, the insurance replacement value of this print is in the $400 to $500 range if it is in near perfect condition. Unfortunately, our aforementioned magnifying glasses revealed serious condition problems on this piece and the actual value of this particular specimen is probably more in the range of $100 to $125, or even a bit less.(Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of the "Price It Yourself" (HarperResource, $19.95). Contact them at Treasures in Your Attic, P.O. Box 27540, Knoxville, TN, 37927)