Photographic History

Another find of photographs in a drawer at an antique shop has contributed to the reconstruction of a significant historical narrative around a little-known female photographer whose work has not received the recognition it deserves in South Africa.

Sara Buijskes as a young woman by unknown photographer (Circa 1900s). Her sister Maud, who later became her assistant in the Barbican studio would have been too young to capture this photograph.

On researching her, it quickly became evident that hardly any publicly documented information existed on her. The intention of the article is therefore to add to the knowledge base of not only early female photographers in South Africa but also South African photographic history in general.

Michael, the co-author of this article, was “scratching” around in an antique shop in Mosselbay in the Western Cape when he stumbled upon almost two hundred large format black and white photographs tucked away in the shop. He had the sense that this was a significant find and bought the entire batch there and then.

At the time he did not know who the photographer was, but the uniqueness of the images justified him buying the batch. Sufficiently curious to determine who the photographer was...

I describe myself as a South African photo historian, but at the same time, also an avid deltiologist. So what does that mean?

These two concepts are closely intertwined in that historical photographs and deltiology share a common interest in their visual representation. Combined, they contribute to presenting a variety of valuable historical narratives.

Photographs are documentary and journalistic in nature. They provide us with records of events, people, and places, whereas deltiology relates to the study and collection of postcards. Deltiologists, in turn, collect postcards for their historical, cultural, and artistic value. These old postcards provide us with a most valuable visual reflection of our past.

Until very recently, postcards were the most popular form of communication, where the back of the card was used for written communication with the front of the card presenting a visual narrative of some sort. Various social media platforms, in use today, have replaced the postcard as a communication tool.

The relationship between photography and deltiology therefore lies in the fact that postcards often feature photographs as their primary visual theme. However, not all postcards originate from photographs in that many postcards are also artistic creations.

In the early days of postcards, before colour photography became prevalent, most postcards were black and white or sepia-toned photographs. Colour postcards from before a certain era were all hand-coloured – like all the coloured postcards included in this article.

Early photographs used in publishing postcards were mainly topographical, showing street or general scenes, landmarks, and buildings...

1. Introduction

Taking photographs some 150 years ago was a significantly more complicated process compared to today. It was hard work and required absolute dedication from aspirational photographers.

These pioneer photographers endured tough times, yet they left us with scenes of significant historical importance some of which have been preserved for posterity. Sadly, these photographers have largely been forgotten in that we freely use their images in articles and publications to support our own historical constructions without acknowledging the original photographic artist.

One of these early historical scenes and human activities that attracted treasure hunters and aspirational photographers alike was the frenzy that ensued following the discovery of a single shiny stone in March 1867 in South Africa.

A second stone found shortly thereafter was taken to Cape Town, where it was photographed by the well-known photographer SB Barnard. These images, in carte-de-visite format, were in high demand and were sold to the public in 1867 (Bull & Denfield, 1966).

The diamond, The Star of South Africa, was discovered two years later (March 1869) and is recorded to have been photographed by Port Elizabeth-based photographer James E. Bruton and later also by the Cape Town-based South African Photographic Saloon (to which a Kimberley-based photographer, Sederstrom, was initially linked). It was this diamond that finally resulted in the frenzy searching for the elusive stones in 1869.

While tribute has been paid to the early-day Kimberley pioneers, the contribution made by photographers has sadly been neglected. These early photographers ultimately also...

Watching a British quiz program recently, one of the questions posed to a participant was: “What is the study of facial hair referred to as?” The answer: Pogonology!

Even the electronic spell checker does not recognise this word, confirming that it is not a word in general use.

The thought that crossed my mind at that point was that the Hardijzer Photographic Research Collection (HPRC) contains many South African Cabinet Card format photographs dating from the Victorian and Edwardian eras containing examples of bearded South African men. Why not share these?

Therefore, all photographs included in this article are in Cabinet Card format, the most popular household photographic format between the 1880s and 1915. People typically placed these photographs in Victorian photo albums or frames in Victorian homes.

These 19th-century photographs explore some beards worn by the South African white male population. Some beards were proudly worn - neat and styled, whilst others came across as burly and unkempt.

While it may be prudent to do so, considering the title, it is not my intent to go into details about each beard’s cut, shape, and form as portrayed in the photographs shared in this article.

The psychology behind the beard

The fascinating aspect of facial hair is that it has no functional role to play. It remains ornamental because it has no specific physiological function to fulfil. Unlike other hair on our body, a beard does nothing other than fulfilling a deeper lying psychological aspect towards male masculinity.

University of...

Picture this, the year, around 1915 - Surrounded by an atmosphere of dust and the noise of motor trolleys and mule wagons stood this old wood and iron building which for many years housed the staff of the South African Railway (SAR) photographic works attached to the then publicity department.

The dilapidated exterior of the building portrayed no indication to the outsider of the amount of activity and photographic creativity that took place amongst its walls.

The building referred to here was situated on the roadside of the great yard of Kazerne goods station in Johannesburg.

This article attempts to acknowledge and honour those men who were attached to early the South African rail photographic section, based in this building following a merger of rail services during 1911.

1. Introduction

Early South African photographers can simplistically be divided into three broad categories, namely professional / commercial, non-commercial (typically government departments) or the amateur photographer.

To date, historians have not awarded early non-commercial South African photographers the recognition and acknowledgement they deserve.

In a recent article on the history of South African Photography (click here to view) to which an updated register of South African professional/commercial photographers from before 1915 was attached, it was pointed out that the list excluded photographers employed within governmental entities – such as those employed by the police and prison services, medical institutions, agricultural services, military, aerial or railway photographers.

The primary intent with this article is therefore to record non-commercial photographers who were active within...

Little did I know that the “old man”, Dotman Pretorius, who captured a photograph of a group of course goers during the mid-1980s, which I was part of, would become a personal research subject some 40 years down the line. Dotman would have been in his late 60s at the time he captured this particular photograph.

When capturing the photograph, he used old-fashioned flashlight technology. I was so intrigued by this, that I asked him whether I may have the large blue glass bulb that he used to produce the flashlight. He happily parted with the unusable item, an item which still features in my photographic collection.

Four decades later, in a Johannesburg-based book shop, I stumbled upon a number of good quality and unique photographs of various themes captured by Dotman Pretorius. Those that initially attracted my attention were the photographs taken by him at Pretoria’s Capitol Theatre during the 1950s.

Opening evening of a 1955 British movie “Geordie” at the Pretoria Capitol theatre during 1956. The movie entails a Scotsman who competes in the summer Olympics, therefore the presence of the pipe band. The theatre, on Parliament Street...

This article reflects on the early religious establishments in Pretoria, intuited from images as portrayed on picture postcards (mainly between the early 1900s and the late 1920s). The remainder of the images included in this article are standard photographic formats contained in the Hardijzer Photographic Research Collection (HPRC) or obtained from Friedel Hansen and Rosa Swanepoel.

From the dawn of civilization, religion, with its extraordinary and powerful influence, has played a significant role in the broader realm of human existence. Today, religion remains the lifeblood of many societies all over the world.

These living faiths, in turn, provide us with insights into the lives and rituals of those immersed in their particular religion.

In order for society to live out its religious convictions, places to worship and perform religious rituals came into existence, resulting in some of the world’s most intricate and ostentatious architecture.

Compared to the rest of the world, South Africa has a significantly younger religious history.

Some conflicting information seems to exist on the earliest 'western' religious establishments in South Africa. It has been suggested that the first religious complex to be built in South Africa was around 1678 in Cape Town – the cornerstone of which was laid by Willem Adriaan van der Stel.

Pretoria’s first religious building was erected during 1857, resulting in a gap of some 180 years between South Africa and Pretoria’s first religious complex!

In comparison, Pretoria’s religious history seems almost insignificant considering the above, yet early photographic images produced of Pretoria’s...

The primary purpose of this article is to introduce the first known catalogue of Anglo-Boer war stereo photographs produced by the American based Keystone View Company (Version 1 – as at April 2022 - click here to view).

At this early stage it also needs to be pointed out that Keystone View Company published their stereoviews in the United Kingdom under the name “The Fine-Art Photographers’ Publishing Co”. The numbering convention and titles applied for these Anglo-Boer war images were the same as for the views published under the Keystone brand. Whilst the Keystone View Company (Keystone) is the main theme of this article, the catalogue attached would be inclusive of the British published views.

This article is the third in a series on South African Anglo-Boer war stereo photographs, or stereoviews, produced by American based entities.

The first in the series was on the Anglo-Boer war stereo photographs produced by Underwood & Underwood (click here to view), whilst the second in the series was on the Kilburn company (click here to view). All three these entities, Keystone included, were stiff competition to each other – also during the Anglo-Boer war period.

Underwood & Underwood was established during 1881 and ceased their activities 39 years later (during 1920), whilst Kilburn was established during 1865. They discontinued their activities 44 years later (during 1909).

After having made some crucial adaptations in order to survive the industry, Keystone became the longest survivor of the three American entities. Keystone was established during 1892, with...

Much has been written about the concept of discarded or “found” photographs. These photographs often contain the most surprising themes which continue making significant contributions to a broader visual and historical perspective.

Whilst the possible themes of found photographs vary broadly, the primary theme remains around our experiences of the world – our memory of something captured - including our own emotion around the commemoration of the dead.

Occasionally these discarded or “found” photographs also include the almost taboo category of mourning photographs or “In Memoriam” photographs.

The Latin “In Memoriam” translates into “In memory of” or “as a memorial to”.

Examples of front cover of antique “In Memoriam” cards. These cards have become of significant interest to researchers and should therefore be curated instead of being discarded or destroyed.

During the mid-1800’s to early 1900’s, photography played a vital role in capturing images of loved ones, not only whilst alive, but also at the time of their death.

Think about it – A photograph turns the past into an object of tender regard (Sontag, 2002), but also only where...

This article is dedicated to Rosa Swanepoel, a Pretoria historian, who donated the images contained in this article to the author during October 2021. She sadly passed away shortly thereafter.

The primary theme of this article is based on the Paarl based photographer James (Jimmy) Gribble, his first wife and their 4 children – roughly spanning a 25 year period (between 1890 and 1915).

Occasionally the Hardijzer Photographic Research Collection (HPRC), a privately curated collection, receives donations of early South African photographs. The recent donation to the HPRC by Swanepoel contained 71 photographs, 70 of which related to the Gribble family.

Finding a collection of images as it relates to an early South African photographer’s own life  narrative, some 100 years after they were initially captured, is exceptionally rare which therefore makes these images even more unique.

On the same day the images were received the vigorious research started as to who all the individuals were as portrayed on the 70 photographs. It became a surreal, almost voyoristic experience in studying each individual as portrayed on the photographs. The odd photograph out in the donated batch is of an armored vehicle, also photographed by Gribble around 1915.

In analysing and researching each individual, a fascinating storyline unfolded – a human story – something probably not captured before and therefore crucial to record, mainly for the benefit of South African photographic history but not to the exclusion of family or genealogical history.

Two key themes stand out strongly, namely that of...