Stunning pictures of women in resplendent costumes, bustling streets and children playing in the desert give a fascinating insight into life across North Africa 125 years ago.
The unearthed images from Algeria, Tunisia and the Sahara desert in 1890 appear in a book compiled by German architect at the time.
It will go on sale at auction tomorrow and is expected to fetch £4,800 (5,500 Euros).
This image of children sprinting through the Sahara Desert in the late 19th century forms part of the book going on sale
The striking images give a fascinating glimpse of life in North Africa during the late 19th century
This family were seen with their tents pitched in the desert, with their camel seen in the background
Pictures were taken from in villages and desert landscapes, providing an insight into life at the time
The ‘scramble for Africa’, as it was termed, saw rapid European colonisation of Africa at the start of the 19th Century.
By the end of the century, Egypt was a British protectorate, while Algeria and Tunisia were European colonies and Morocco, though not yet a colony, had a heavy European presence. Libya, meanwhile, was not yet unified and was still part of the Ottoman Empire.
One result of this was that by the end of the century, European colonists had begun capturing photographic images from colonies across North Africa.
This hefty album contains 149 images and is believed to have been commissioned by a wealthy German architect at the time.
The photos are thought to have been taken by two French studios of the day – Albert and the brothers Neurdein.
The book shows views of north African desert landscapes and villages, as well as portraits of local people in traditional dress and going about their everyday life.
One image shows a woman carrying a basket on her head, while another shows a man proudly holding a musical instrument.
Another picture shows a family in the desert with a camel for company, while in many images women wear spectacular costumes with extravagant headdresses and jewellery.
Men are also seen brandishing their weapons in the photo album.
A woman was seen carrying bread in a basket on her head – one of the series of pictures in the hefty album
The images depict views of North Africa villages, landscapes and portraits of local people in traditional costume
Balazs Jadi, specialist at Berlin based Jeschke van Vliet Auctions who are auctioning off the photo album, said: ‘It is a huge album. It weighs 15kg. And the photos in it are something special.
‘We believe it has come from a very wealthy person, perhaps even the German royal architect, and he commissioned two French studios to take the photos.
‘The interesting thing about the photos is they give us complete coverage of life in Algeria, Morocco and the Sahara desert in 1890.
‘There are pictures of the landscapes, of the desert and of the people in their traditional costumes.
‘You have palm trees, people farming in the desert, the markets, women with their jewellery – it gives a great insight into their lives at that time.’
The auction takes place tomorrow.
These high end portraits of life in 19th century North Africa are a time travel tour through a forgotten era
The album is comprised of 149 previously unearthed photographs from North Africa in 1890
The hefty album contains 149 images and is believed to have been commissioned by a wealthy German architect at the time
The images capture a moment in history before the First World War and rising protests which changed colonised life in Africa
The pictures, taken in 1890, offer a glimpse into what life was like in the region more than 100 years ago
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