“How ‘Young Africa’ does its sums,” 1900/1914
This postcard depicts the two young subjects in East Africa crouching down and facing each other. Between them are rows of small holes in the ground filled with small stones, suggesting that they are playing a game. The contrast between bright colors of their clothing against the more neutral tones of the ground and stones are visually compelling.
Apart from this aesthetic appeal, the photograph also allows a distant viewer to witness children at play in a place they may never visit themselves—a scene they would not have been able to see without the development of photography and its widespread circulation. This image from the International Mission Photography Archive exemplifies photography in relation to social science, offering a view of traditional culture and its preservation in an image.
Apart from this aesthetic appeal, the photograph also allows a distant viewer to witness children at play in a place they may never visit themselves—a scene they would not have been able to see without the development of photography and its widespread circulation. This image from the International Mission Photography Archive exemplifies photography in relation to social science, offering a view of traditional culture and its preservation in an image.