The Spirit of District Six

Barrow, Brian

ISBN 10: 0798143878 / ISBN 13: 9780798143875

Published by Human & Rousseau, 2003

About this Item

The backside of the front end page has been signed in black ink by Breytenbach. The boards are ever so slightly rubbed, but quite discoloured and marked, however, the boards remain clear and bright, and the discolouration is not immediately noticeable on the front board. Internally, apart from Breytenbach's signature, the pages within are unmarked and crisp. The binding is lovely and tight. JV.K. Our orders are shipped using tracked courier delivery services.

Seller Inventory # ornf

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Spirit of District Six
• Publisher: Human & Rousseau
• Publication Date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0798143878
• ISBN 13: 9780798143875
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 2nd Edition.
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Weight: 19 ounces
• Signed: Signed by photographer
• Seller catalogs:
  • Photography

About this title

Synopsis

This beautiful book shows poignant images from Breytenbach’s collection of District Six during the 1970s before the area was dramatically demolished by the apartheid government. It is an historical record about the inhabitants and their surroundings of that time and was compiled over a period of five years.

The Cape Town area known as District Six (so called for its geographic position on the municipal map of the city) developed into a dense residential area close to the centre of Cape Town during the second part of the nineteenth century.

Home to a diverse community with a wide range of historical origins, neglect on the part of landlords and local authorities led to the area becoming rundown. The government repeatedly directed requests to the city council and the landlords – most of whom were white and not residing in the area – to upgrade what was fast becoming a slum on the doorstep of one of the most beautiful cities in the world. On 11 February 1966, the government declared District Six a white area under the Group Areas Act, and the wholesale removal of the inhabitants was started – mainly to areas away from the city. This process took fifteen years and some 60 000 people were removed.