{"product_id":"postcards-from-africa-photographers-of-the-colonial-era","title":"Postcards from Africa","description":"\u003cb\u003eA close look at photographic postcards made in Africa in the first  decades of the twentieth century reveals surprising images and  tells their often-complicated stories\u003c\/b\u003e. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Photographers in Africa grasped the opportunity to serve a lucrative market for images  of the continent, both locally and worldwide, during the global postcard craze that  peaked around 1900 and continued for several decades. Their picture postcards now  contribute to understanding political, social and cultural changes in Africa at the  time, as the rise of the new medium coincided with the expansion and consolidation  of colonial rule. They also provide a way to reconstruct the life and work of the  photographers of European, African and other backgrounds who created these images –  which often survive only in postcard form – and in some cases published them as well.       \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe cards were produced for residents and travellers in Africa, as well as for buyers  and collectors who had never set foot on the continent. Their depictions of colonial  administrations, exploitation of resources and peoples, as well as images inscribing  tribal identities and racial classifications, often reflect the colonizers’ worldview. Yet  it is also possible to recover the authorship of some of the African women and men  who participated in these photographic encounters. For instance, some cards show that  members of Africa’s elites recognized the power of photographic images to enhance  their standing and present their own narratives.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e Postcards from Africa reproduces a significant selection of these complex cards  – the majority drawn from the extensive Leonard A. Lauder Postcard Archive at the  Museum of Fine Arts, Boston – accompanied by a leading scholar’s exploration of the  stories they tell.","brand":"Museum of Fine Arts,Boston","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":32083581173843,"sku":"9780878468553","price":43.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0278\/1295\/4195\/files\/9780878468553.jpg?v=1759866319","url":"https:\/\/agendabookshop.com\/products\/postcards-from-africa-photographers-of-the-colonial-era","provider":"Agenda Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}