Rectangular portrait of a lady named Maria, inscribed and mounted.

Photography as a medium arrived in West Africa via the maritime trading routes during the second half of the nineteenth century. Imports in return for raw materials and gold began to include things such as photographic equipment and slides. As Europeans began to settle along the West African coastline towns such as Cape Coast began to develop as wealthy trade centres, with photographic practises and other Western traditions being culturally amalgamated. A wave of notable West African studio photographers emerged from this cultural boom, learning from prestigious European photographers and going on to develop their own style in relation to both African and European clients.

Sister Evelyn Bellamy was a Methodist Missionary in Ghana and between 1914 and 1943, during which time she occupied the post of headmistress of Wesley Girls High School in Cape Coast. The Danford Collection is home to a large number of objects presented by Sister Evelyn Bellamy and some of her papers can be accesssed through the Cadbury Research Library.

Inscriptions / Translations:  ‘With much love from Maria’ (on front)
‘To Sister Evelyn Bellamy’ and ’10.IX.26’ (on reverse)