This vintage postcard features two women members of the Mandingues ethnic group. They are topless and wearing native garb and jewelry. The Mandinka are a West African ethnic group numbering about eleven million people. Most live in southern Mali, eastern Guinea, and northern Ivory coast. This postcard is part of a series (no.I117). The women’s photograph was taken by a well known and skilled photographer. Francois-Edmond Fortier (1862-1928) was a French documentary photographer and ethnographer. He published more than 3500 postcards of French West Africa “Afrique Occidentale”. Fortier was based in Dakar, Senegal. This vintage postcard is from the 1920’s. (SOLD)
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 