Rare and/or out of print Southern African Tribal Art Books

 

African Elegance     African Elegance   ALICE MERTENS - JOAN BROSTER       African Elegance - Image numbers 27. 28 and 72   African Elegance by Alice Mertens and Joan Broster records the costumes, beadwork and customs of Xhosa tribal life in the Transkei region. Page after page of priceless images expose a time now lost, seen through the lens of Alice Mertens photographic magic.       African Elegance - Image numbers 128 and 125   Joan Broster details the Gcaleka, Tembu, Pondo, Bomvana and Fingo peoples, who reside in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Since publication, most traditional tribal dress has become westernized and many age old traditions have fallen away.        African Elegance - Image number 141   Joan Broster neé Clarke, was born in Engcobo Transkei  in 1916 and grew up there. Her parents James and Beatrice Clarke were traders. In 1938 she received a diploma from Rhodes University in Grahamstown. During the war she served as a nurse with the South African Military Nursing Service. Between the years 1952 and 1966, Joan and her husband Broughton Broster, ran the Qebe Trading Store at Qebe, situated between Qebe proper and Engcobo. As a qualified nurse, Joan helped out at the nearby hospital located at the All Saints Anglican Mission.       African Elegance - Image numbers 80 and 110   At Qebe, Joan developed a keen interest to the customs of the Qaba people, the local Thembu clan. She documented the importance of traditional beadwork and customs, which resulted in the publication of four books about Xhosa and related peoples. The books were titled: Amagqirha - Red Blanket Valley - The Thembu and African Elegance .       ALICE MERTENS - 1915 - 2001   Alice Victoria Mertens was born in Namibia in February 1915. Shortly before WWII, she studied photography at Reimann School in Berlin. She became a professional photographer and worked as a journalist in Cape Town between 1964 and 1980. Alice Mertens travelled extensively in Southern Africa, studying the scenery, its wildlife and indigenous peoples. Dozens of her photographs were used at the International Court of Justice in The Hague in 1964. Between 1959 and 1975, she authored or co-authored eleven books (listed below). Alice lectured in the Arts Department at the University of Stellenbosch. She bequeathed her collection of slides and photographs to the Duggan-Cronin Museum in Kimberly.       African Elegance - Image numbers 89 and 107   According to Wim Tijmens, Alice Mertens: was so intent on perfect shots that on one occasion she actually dug herself into a deep, sandy hole in the Etosha Pan, securing photos from underneath elephant's bellies as they trundled over her camouflaged body!        African Elegance - Image number 118   Outstanding tribal beaded costumes are celebrated throughout. 1979     Price: $125.00 plus postage.     Other books by Joan Broster include: Amagqirha, Red Blanket Valley, The Thembu and Transkei Heritage.   To learn more about the life and times of Joan Broster, click here.   Books authored - or co authored - by Alice Mertens:   Cape Town, Kaapstad (Text: W. A. de Klerk) 1959 Deutsche Kultur am Kap (Text: Kurt Bauch) 1964 Stellenbosch - 1966 South West Africa and its indigenous people (Text: Stuart Cloete) 1966 Children of the Kalahari 1966 Etosha (Text: W. A. de Klerk, Foreword by Dr. Anton Rupert) 1969 Namib Photographs of the Namib Desert (Text: Henno Martin) 1971 African Elegance (Text: Joan Broster) 1973  Kavango  - 1974   The Zulu (Text: Hilgard Schoemann) 1975 Die Xosas - The Xhosa (Text: Fergus Grey ) 1975 Follow this link to view other Southern African tribal art books on offer.