The Historic Photographers of Zanzibar

Near the turn of the last century Stone Townwas a bustling port, atrading center, a supply and communication hub and a true International City. Travelers from many lands passed through Zanzibar and like modern tourists, many wanted to keep a record of the sights they had seen.

Cameras were large and complex in those days, hard to maintain and transport. But Zanzibar was fortunate to have intelligent citizens and business interests with enough foresight and skill to risk importing a number of these new-fangled cameras to the Islands. They were at onceset up to photograph important events, buildings and sometimes local "color" in order to sell pictures to an eager public. We are fortunate that many of these early photos were later made into post cards which survive to this day to give us a glimpse of the past.

Most Zanzibar Photographers worked and lived in Stone Town but some of their best work was done outside the city.

Zanzibar photographers knew the advantage of perspective and used it to compose some wonderful images.

Both work and play were documented by these pioneer artists.