SURVIVING THE LENS (Publisher's copy)

Collectors’ Edition: 143 pages, pictorial title page, 37 pages of acknowledgements, introduction and notes on the captions, followed by 50 full-page photographs with captions opposite, half black leather gilt, grey cloth sides with a gilt vignette on the upper cover, housed in a matching slip case with a photograph inset on the front panel, a fine copy.

The limitations page reads: Collectors' Edition. A special edition limited to 50 copies. This volume is number 4 presented to Fernwood Press (Pty) Limited signed by the authors.

‘Historians, public galleries and collectors have in recent years started re-viewing photographs of African people taken during the colonial period for their aesthetic merits as well as their historical significance. However, the images that originated in south and east Africa, which form the focus of this book, have not received the same attention as those from west and central Africa.

Editor’s note. ‘The 50 photographic portraits presented in this book, most of them unpublished, were taken in east and south Africa between 1870 and 1920, the period of high European imperialism in the region. ‘Selected from the authors' own extensive collection, these compelling images were created in studios and in the field, and show people carefully positioned in rustic makeshift outdoor settings and indoors with theatrical backdrops and props. There are formal images by professional photographers as well as more casual 'snapshots' by amateurs intended as visual souvenirs. Mainly the work of Europeans living in Africa, the images chosen for inclusion reveal an enigmatic intensity and develop and unfolding poignancy with each viewing, offering a view of the humanity of the subjects that transcends the boundaries of history, class and culture. ‘Where possible the photographs are reproduced the same size as the originals and each is accompanied by a caption containing detailed information about the image. A comprehensive introductory essay illustrated with full-page details from the selected images discusses the changing approaches to historical photographs and the various complex factors that influenced their making.’