This fine book presents a rare and stunning photographic record of a bygone era – Burma during the period 1862 to 1962. The photographs are drawn from the personal collection of Thai scholar Thweep (Ake) Rittinaphakorn. (Listen to a Podcast of the author in conversation about his book.)
Importantly, each image is accompanied not by a simple, brief caption, but by a lengthy, enlightening description – something which sets this book apart.
The British brought with them the latest technology in cameras and photographic reproduction when they colonised Burma. For Europeans, Burma was incredibly ‘exotic’ and given that the arrival of the British coincided with the advent of the age of photography, the country was soon richly catalogued and photographed.
The new technology was first popularised by western practitioners (Germans, Italians, and, of course, the British) and upper-class patrons, but then spread to the mass market. Thweep Rittinaphakorn has carefully collected and recorded the results.
Unseen Burma takes readers on a stunning visual journey from the beginning of Burma, its colonial era, through to the hopeful first years of independence.
Now available on Amazon (delivery is free with Amazon Prime.)
(Thank you to the Bagri Foundation for their support in promoting this and other books published on Asian history & material culture.)
Click on each sample image below for a preview.
