Interesting Old Postcards !

Here are two interesting postcards from the Belgian Congo.  Both are dated in the early-mid 1920's -- prior to the first successful importations of Basenjis into England. 

This card shows the village of Boense in the Belgian Congo.
The phrase "Chez les Bantandu" means "Home of the Bantandu."

Do you see a probably unexpected "participant" in the photo?
Center - front?  White collar, curled tail and all? !

Here's an enhanced photo of a familiar face...
Prick ears, white blaze and collar, white feet
and tail tip - and of course, a respectably curly tail ...

This post card, also from the early-mid 1920's, doesn't
tell us the name of the village...  It is shows the inspection
of a cotton crop in the Belgian Congo...

There's a small dog standing next to the man in white
at the far right-hand side of the photo.   Here's
an enlarged/enhanced photo of the dog...

The dog appears possibly to have a
black and tan pattern on its face,
and it definitely has prick ears... But is
this a Basenji?  It doesn't appear
to have white feet or toes - and a
careful examination of the
photos reveals that the man MAY be
holding this dog's leash... The
dog also doesn't appear to have
the characteristic "bladed bone"
on its forelegs, as Basenjis do ...

Both postcards were published in the 1920's - so it is safe
to assume that the photos on the cards were actually taken
sometime in the early 1900's.

Is the second postcard evidence that there were
European-bred dogs in the Belgian Congo in the
early 1900's?   Is the dog in the second
photo a European dog?  A Basenji-mix?
A Basenji with de minimus white markings ?

Interesting Questions !

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