David Goldblatt's (born 1930) In Bosburg was published in 1982, making
it one of the earlier photobooks in South African history. Goldblatt,
himself from a white background and a critical observer of the racist
dynamics of his native country, was interested in capturing the "wholly
uneventful flow of commonplace, orderly life" of the white population
around him. Boksburg, a legally white-only town on the Eastern periphery
of Johannesburg (which, at the time, was heavily dependent on black
labor), seemed to best fit his purposes, and between 1979 and 1980 he
recorded everyday scenes in the town. This new edition includes several
additional photographs and a new essay by Sean O'Toole, providing
penetrating insight into the history of the book and the story behind
the photographs and their subject.