A few of the dozens of pages devoted to merchandise taken by the expedition. First, arms and ammunition:
Supplies:
Instruments:
Letter of transit in Arabic, carried by Barth, given to him by the Sultan of Bagirmi, who held him prisoner for months:
Barth’s English translation of the letter of transit, written on opposite side:
Barth’s letter to the British Foreign Office announcing his safe arrival in Timbuktu:
Barth’s IOU to some Ghadamsi merchants, entailed on his way home:
In the Labyrinth 
Hi Steve,
Looking for ancient pictures of Timbuktu, I came across your blog.
Your way of writing took me straight into the dessert and reminded me that I once had the idea to go there with my landrover to add some adventures to my life 🙂 This is however not the reason I’m writing you. According to a map of a global energy grid, Timbuktu (or a place near) is right on one of the energy centers. In your blog I saw the old painting with the two buildings in the back. I hoped that you might fill me in on these two. According to other points on this grid I mentioned I would be looking for either high buildings/structures or monolite-objects. Maybe you can help me find the monument that is connected to this energy grid!
Keep up the good work!
Rik Gorree
Breda/The Netherlands
Rik–
Thanks for your note. Which old painting are you talking about?
Hi Steve,
I’m talking about the old sketch/painting where Barth arrives in Timbuktu. In the background there are two tall buidings…
gr,rg!
There are actually three buildings visible, Timbuktu’s three ancient mosques, Sankore, Djingereber, and Sidi Yahia.
Ow, ok! I’m gonna look them up! many thanks!!!!!
Keep up the good work!
gr,rg!
This is a great article. I especially appreciated the pictures of different letters and documents in Heinrich Barth’s own hand. Might I ask what the original source of the images are?
British National Archives.
Thank you very much