COWAN, John.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Abu Dhabi 1965-1976. First edition of one of the first photobooks produced for the emirate of Abu Dhabi, dedicated to Sheikh Zayed and "intended to reflect not just the obvious signs of change in the shape of buildings,... but also capture something of the life of the city and the contrasts that change inevitably brings". We have only traced three institutional copies. It is based on photographs from the personal archive of John Cowan (1929-79), a renowned professional working in the fashion world of 1960s Swinging London, as well as a travel photographer. The book immortalizes Abu Dhabi suspended between its traditional past and the burgeoning oil industry and urban development. A photo of Sheikh Zayed ordering a drive-in coffee is followed by falconers in the Old Palace, a sandy Khalifa bin Zayed Street yet to receive tarmac, and the Al Ain Palace hotel, as well as horse and camel riders, a "ladies' circle", market scenes, and trucks carrying aggregate for the construction of the new airport. Scenes also include an oil rig in the Liwa, various town buildings in Al Ain, the old Abu Dhabi mosque, and the arrival of widespread tarmac, Rolls Royce cars, motor boats, and KFC in the 1970s.

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