CONGO

49pp., illus., some tipped in, quarter raffia, cloth covered boards, No. 29 of a limited edition of 300 copies, signed by Irma Stern, Pretoria, 1943

"Published in a limited edition of three hundred, Congo was Stern's first printed book under her own name. Similar to her follow up book, Zanzibar (1948), it showcases her keen appreciation for book design. Illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs of her paintings and drawings, with some of the illustrations dramatically tipped-in, the clothbound book includes original raffia backing acquired in Congo...

"The importance of Congo and Zanzibar is not as travelogues, but in what they reveal about how Stern looks and sees. Her eye frequently lingers on the material signifiers of cultures and quotidian rituals of power."

from Irma Stern, African in Europe, European in Africa by Sean O'Toole