Johannesburg: Then & Now JOHANNESBURG THEN AND NOW
archival photographs, dating from the 1880s to the 1940s,
By Marc Latilla and Yeshiel Panchia | Publisher: Struik Travel &
are contrasted with vivid scenes of the modern city,
Heritage | ISBN: 9781775846178
providing a hitherto untold portrait of the Place of Gold.
I
Where possible, the modern-day photographs have
n less than a century, the jumble of shabby tents and
been shot from the same locations as the originals. Detailed
lean-tos that constituted Johannesburg’s first settlement
captions provide fascinating comparisons between the old
has grown into a modern metropolis of towering office
and the new, while also illuminating features that have
buildings, high-rise apartments and sprawling suburbs. Its
remained the same.
rapid development has been in no small measure the result of the fabulous wealth that lay in the gold-rich deposits of the now-famous Witwatersrand basin. Johannesburg Then and Now, a fascinating series of
Johannesburg Then and Now is a superb collection of images and text that will delight both local residents and visitors. Marc Latilla works in the music industry and is the creator of Johannesburg 1912, a blog covering the history
photographic juxtapositions, chronicles the city’s expansion
of the city. His articles have appeared in various print and
from dusty mining camp to economic powerhouse. Rare
online publications and his work has been used in a range of
86 / Creative Feel / November 2018
