On the following pages we show a small exhibit of vintage postcards of African men and women in leadership positions, mostly dating from the first three decades of the C20th. Contrary to the impression we often gain from the media, African dress traditions were, and still are, extremely complex, diverse, and elaborate. Cloth and dress, in African societies, as elsewhere, is closely interwoven with issues of status and identity for both individuals and groups. Even in societies where clothing was apparently minimal, dress involved nuances of distinction and elaboration which can only be understood by close local knowledge. Both similarities and differences are apparent within and between different groups and areas. Dress styles are modified over time and through changing access to raw materials and techniques. In some cases this change is rapid, in others hardly perceptible over centuries. These images provide glimpses of specific people and traditions at specific moments in time, not images of an unchanging but now lost golden age. I have selected them both because I think they are interesting in themselves, and because they illustrate a few aspects of these issues.

Postcards such as these were artefacts of the colonial era, taken by men (almost all the photographers were men) with their own agendas and interests. A few photographers were African but most were Europeans. Relations of power were implicit and often explicit between photographer and their subjects. The cards, like all photographs, are not a transparent window into the past, but one that was selected, arranged, and largely controlled by the cameraman. In order to sell cards the images chosen had mostly to fit in with prevailing stereotypes of Africa and Africans. Mysterious and savage kingdoms, bizarre customs, exotic settings, nubile and exposed women were the stock in trade. Does this make cards useless as glimpses of and sources of information about the past ? No, but it does mean we have to think carefully about what we are seeing and why. Some of the reading listed in the references at the left explore these issues.

African leaders were usually highly conscious of the important role played by dress and self-presentation in asserting and maintaining their claims to exceptional status. Some had numerous different and highly varied outfits for a range of occasions. Exotic and unusual items, from the skins and feathers of powerful or rare animals and birds, to unusual textiles and clothes imported from other parts of Africa or overseas, frequently contributed to leadership outfits and regalia. In some cases the message conveyed by these was simply one of wealth and power, in others highly complex and nuanced local symbolism was at work.

The selection of images that follow is far from comprehensive. It reflects postcards that have come my way in recent years, already filtered by the choices of the photographers and card publishers of the past, which in turn were impacted by the demands and expectations of their viewers. In particular, despite the often highly important role of female leadership in many African cultures, there are very few cards that depict women in leadership roles. Geographically there is a heavy emphasis on West Africa which largely reflects my own interest in the region.

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