VERGER (Pierre). — The Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi - Lot 300

Lot 300
Aller au lot
Estimation :
150 - 200 EUR
Enchérir sur drouot.com
VERGER (Pierre). — The Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi - Lot 300
VERGER (Pierre). — The Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi VERGER (Pierre). The Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi. Two hundred twenty-two photographs. Introduction by Charles d'Ydewalle. Paris: Paul Hartmann, 1952 [also distributed in Brussels by the Librairie Générale]. Large quarto format, approximately 144 pages, lavishly illustrated with 222 black-and-white photographs by Pierre Verger, reproduced full-page or arranged in collages; map at the beginning of the volume. Paperback, with original photographic dust jacket illustrated on both covers. Captions in French, Flemish, and English. The BnF describes the work as unpaginated and 26 cm in size; the bibliographies of the Pierre Verger Foundation list 144 pages. First edition, published in 1952, of one of Pierre Verger’s major photographic albums devoted to Africa. The bibliography compiled by the Pierre Verger Foundation lists it specifically under this date, with its 222 photographs and an introduction by Charles d’Ydewalle. An important photographic record of the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi on the eve of independence, the book brings together a vast collection of images taken by Verger during his travels in Africa: people, portraits and group shots, navigation on the Congo River, equatorial landscapes, villages, agriculture, economic activities and transportation, traditional costumes and adornments, group scenes, as well as the spectacular mountainous landscapes of Ruanda-Urundi. The book’s significance lies above all in Verger’s photographic vision, which goes far beyond the scope of a traditional geographical or colonial album. People occupy a central place in many of the compositions, as in the remarkable photograph chosen for the cover, depicting four men holding their long paddles. Taken as a whole, the collection is now an important document in the photographer’s body of work and in the history of the photographic representation of Central Africa in the mid-20th century. The captions are provided in three languages: French, Flemish, and English—a feature confirmed by copies held at the Rijksmuseum and in several international libraries. This copy is preserved in its rare original photographic dust jacket. The interior is in good condition. The dust jacket is worn, showing scuffing and small marginal tears, with a fairly noticeable loss in the lower left corner of the front cover and a small loss on the back cover; nevertheless, it is complete with the essential parts of its two major photographic compositions.
Mes ordres d'achat
Informations sur la vente
Conditions de vente
Retourner au catalogue