Color image of a shipping yard; two buildings in background with boats with figures in them in the foreground

Untitled (44UN-7997-226), Ghana, 1958

Todd Webb

Archival pigment print

Courtesy of the Todd Webb Archive L2020.85.73

Not on View

Jamestown harbor in Accra served as a bustling center for the import and export of goods into Ghana. Because of the shallow waters, ships were loaded from and off-loaded onto the smaller boats seen here, then their goods were carried to shore by hand. Webb took many photographs of this laborious process, showing the exchange of goods at the thriving seaport. Photographer James Barnor, who was also active in Ghana in 1958, noted that Webb stood on the cement breakwater that jutted into the harbor in order to take this photograph.

The Customs House and Ghana Railways and Harbours buildings were once the site of most of the country’s trade commerce. But this harbor was already in its decline when Webb photographed the hard work of unloading materials from the large ships moored in the harbor.

Image: In Copyright. Courtesy of the Todd Webb Archive

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