A CAPE CAMERA The Architectural Beauty of the old Cape Arthur Elliott and Hans Fransen

2000. Firm softcover, 224 pages. Large size. Very good condition. A few marks on front end page.

The Elliott Collection is one of the most remarkable photographic collections in the world. The qualities that make his photographs of old Cape scenes so memorable have something to do with they way the sunlight strikes the irregularity of white plastered walls, something also with the way Elliot introduced the human element into his photographs, but mostly with the way his camera conveyed that delicate balance between picturesque dilapidation and unselfconscious prosperity that used to characterise Cape domestic architecture.

Elliott's photographs from the early 20thC cover not only Cape Town but the Cape Peninsula, Stellenbosch, Hottentots Holland, & the Berg River Valley, the north including Tulbagh, Darling, & Ceres, and the east as far as Uitenhage and Graaff Reinet.

Elliot's rare rapport with his subject is complemented by a knowledgeable and affectionate commentary from a noted expert and enthusiast on the subject of South Africa's artistic and cultural heritage, Hans Fransen.