Casimir Zagourski created this unique album as testimony to a culture which he believed to be on the brink of extinction. Having travelled widely throughout Central Africa during the 1920s and ‘30s, Zagourski’s committed interest in documenting the people, places and traditions he encountered is reflected in his technically accomplished photography.
Zagourski was born to an aristocratic Polish family and served in the Tsarist air force before moving to Léopoldville, the capital of the Belgian Congo. Zagourski established his own photographic studio in 1924, but pursued his interest in ethnographic photography through travels in the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Chad, Kenya, Central African Republic, Cameroon, and Congo-Brazzaville. He sold individual images and larger unique albums like this one, made up to order as souvenirs for visitors who passed by his shop.
Zagourski’s work was exhibited at the Paris World Fair in 1937, and his work received attention more recently at the Smithsonian’s exhibition In and Out of Focus: Images from Central Africa, 1885-1960 (2002).
Handmade leather album with a raised elephant motif, comprising 347 hand-mounted vintage silver gelatin prints (including one large format). Signed and titled, with a dedication by the artist. 40.7 x 30.6 cm.