Steckelmann left the Loango coast and returned briefly
to the United States in 1888 with a substantial collection. During
his stay, he took the opportunity to present the work at colleges and
scientific societies, where his explorations and discoveries reportedly
received widespread attention both in the New York World and the New
York Herald. Around June, 1889, Steckelmann arrived with his collection in
Cincinnati, which was shown at the Cincinnati Museum Association as
part of a self-financed lecture tour and ad hoc exhibition designed
to raise money for his return to Africa. He subsequently left his African
holdings at the Cincinnati Museum Association for safekeeping, and
they were later bought for the Museum in 1890. The purchase took place
after Steckelmann had returned to the Loango coast region, where he
continued to trade until his death in a boating accident off the coast
of Mayumba (present-day Gabon) in August 1895.
Steckelmann Collection exhibited in Columbus, Indiana,
circa 1888-89. Stephen Brockmann Archives.
