• Fragile Legacies
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Fragile Legacies

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Alonge’s historic photographs provide rare insight into the rituals and regalia of the Benin Court over a half-century.
  • 11 July 2017
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Fragile Legacies showcases the fascinating photographs of Chief Solomon Osagie Alonge (1911-1994), Nigeria's premier twentieth-century photographer and the first official photographer to the Royal Court of the Kingdom of Benin. Alonge's historic photographs document the rituals, pageantry, and regalia of the Benin Court for over a half-century, and provide rare insight into the history of Nigeria from an insider's perspective. With important contributions by leading Nigerian writers, this volume examines the transformations of colonialism in Africa, and more specifically Nigeria, within the context of global capitalism in the early to mid-twentieth century.

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Price: $49.95
Pages: 208
Publisher: D Giles Limited
Imprint: GILES
Publication Date: 11 July 2017
Trim Size: 11.00 X 9.50 in
ISBN: 9781907804991
Format: Hardcover
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"The book offers a rich tapestry of essays and viewpoints illuminating Chief Alonge’s legacy. For scholars of visual culture in Africa and, more generally, global photographic practices, the publication presents a major milestone and a timely addition to the literature. For readers interested in colonial and postcolonial history and changing cultural landscapes in African kingdoms and particularly in Benin, it adds to the understanding of social and political dynamics through the lens of photography."—Christraud M. Geary, African Arts
Dedication

Forewords: Johnnetta Betsch Cole and Yusuf Abdallah Usman

Preface: Through the Lens of Benin-Edo Cultural Heritage: The Photography of Chief S.O. Alonge by Theophilus Umogbai

Introduction: Preserving a Fragile Legacy: Forging Ties with a Nigerian Community by Amy J. Staples


The Royal Court of Benin
Chapter 1
Imaging | Imagining: S.O. Alonge, Photography, and Visual Culture in Benin, Nigeria by Amy J. Staples

Chapter 2
Remembering Solomon Osagie Alonge | Revisiting History by Flora Edouwaye S. Kaplan

Chapter 3
Redeeming the Image of the Benin Monarchy and People by Tam Fiofori

Long sidebar: Photographing the Oba of Benin by George Osodi

Plates
Royal court


Benin Visual Culture
Chapter 4
Art as a Medium of Recording: Precolonial Benin Revisited by Daniel E. Inneh

sidebar
Benin Plaques and Alonge Photographs

Chapter 5
Photographic Recordkeeping in Benin: Ancient and Modern by Kokunre Agbontaen Eghafona

Sidebar
Commemorative Textiles


The Ideal Photo Studio
Chapter 6
The Ideal Photo Studio: S.O. Alonge as Artist-Photographer-Social Documentarian by Amy J. Staples
sidebar: Dame Merry Oritsetimeyin Ehanire
sidebar: Francis Edo Osagie

long sidebar
Enis Ehikhamenor interview

Plates
Ideal Photo Studio


S.O. Alonge Collection [artifacts]

Notes

Selected Reading

Contributors

Acknowledgments

Photography Credits

Index

gatefold
Benin Timeline: A Selected History of the Obas