From the Bookshelf

I first saw this book on Nick Bantock's coffee table when I was there for a weekend workshop several years ago. I found it fascinating and purchased my own copy.  Nick is well-known for his "altered" postcards and many of the ones in the book are similar to those he's used in his art.  "The Lure of Distant Lands" is an apt subtitle for this collection of turn of the (last) century photographs from Africa, the Middle and Far East.
They still seem exotic now over 100 years later, their impact on the Europeans and Americans of the day must have been stunning.  This makes a wonderful reference volume, and provides a tantalizing glimpse to a lost era.