Old African Photos

This page showcases 19th century and earlier African photos together with colonial images of old Africa and earlier etchings and paintings of old Africa. Click on the NEXT or PREVIOUS buttons below for images and photos or click on AUTO for a slideshow.

Much of Africa, particularly those countries in the Great Lakes region, weren't even visited by westerners armed with cameras until the early twentieth century and, as such, we will never see very old images of Africa from those areas but photography itself was introduced to Africa shortly after its invention in 1839, and it quickly became a popular medium for documenting the continent’s people, cultures, and landscapes.

For more about colonial Africa with more photos explore the information pages below.

Old African Photos	Old African Photos	Old African Photos
Africa History Before you travel to Africa as a volunteer, explore the rich and varied history of the continent. More >	Wildlife Webcams Before you volunteer in Africa check out these live webcams from around the diverse continent of Africa. Visit >	Colonialism Africa A video documentary about the history of African European colonialism. More >

<h1>Old African Photos</h1>

Old African Photos

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The first daguerreotypes arrived in Africa only ten months after François Arago officially announced the invention of photography at the French Chamber of Deputies in 1839. In West Africa, explorers and government officials such as the French Louis Bouët and Jules Itier were among the first to employ this technology as they traveled along the Atlantic coast in the early 1840s, however, if the invention of photography coincided with the consolidation of colonial empires in the region, this medium was not the monopoly of Europeans.

African patrons and entrepreneurs quickly picked up the new technology, which circulated and flourished through local and global networks of exchange. Photographers, clients, and images moved across the region often traversing both national and ethnic boundaries. The first studios were often temporary ones, established by professional photographers who worked itinerantly, moving from one urban centre to the next. African American Augustus Washington (1820–1875) was one such photographer who relocated to the West African nation of Liberia, where he opened the first studio in the capital of Monrovia in 1853. Through his advertisements placed in local newspapers, his journey can be followed as he visited the main African capitals along the Atlantic coast.

By the 1870s, a number of photographers, such as the Sierra Leonean Francis W. Joaque (ca. 1845–1900) and the Gambian John Parkes Decker, had taken up this activity, working for both European and African clients.