Postcard-sized Sepia Production Still
5 1/2 inches by 3 1/2 Inches
(30.5cm x 28.8cm)
South African Films Co. Ltd.
Johannesburg, South Africa
c. 1915
Based on the inscription on its reverse side, this small sepia photograph appears to be a production still from an unknown South African film. Based on the uniforms worn by the actors in the scene the film seems to postdate the Anglo-Boer War by several years.
The scene depicted may be set during the Bambatha Rebellion of 1906 or perhaps during World War One. In the scene, British or colonial troops appear to have set up an outpost in a small Zulu kraal.
One interesting feature of the photograph is the M1895 Colt-Browning "potato digger" machine gun on the left of the scene. Several of these American designed and built machine guns were used by Canadian troops during the Anglo-Boer War and this example may have been leftover from the conflict.
Above: The reverse side of the photo showing the inscription which appears to read: "Butcher mounted Sergt with dispatch & Zulu huts Zululand for African Films Trust Co Ltd Johannesburg. I am doing cow by in the pictures.". Although the inscription seems to allude to the South African Film Trust which was founded by Isidore W. Schlesinger in 1913, the film in question may actually have been produced by African Film Productions Ltd., a related company set up by Schlesinger in 1915.