The print depicts Dr. Andrew Smith with the party that accompanied him on his trip into the African interior in 1834 (shown here on their journey towards the Tropic of Capricorn).

Smith's expedition of 1834-6 to explore the territories to the north of the colony was largely funded by Cape merchants and other interested parties. Bell was sent along as second draughtman with express instructions to record details about the people they came into contact with, to contribute to 'an exact portrait of their life as respects their condition, arts, and policy, their language, their appearance, population, origin, and relation to other tribes, or in general whatever tends to elucidate their disposition or resources as sharers or agents in commerce, or their preparation to receive Christianity.'

Bell's intention was to publish his sketches from this expedition as an album (he even produced an illustrated title page) called 'Scraps from my South African Sketch Books' or in a slightly different arrangement as 'Scraps from the Sketch Books of a Wanderer in Southern Africa'. This print forms part of that proposed publication.