non-fugitive pigment print on archival fibre-based Baryta

Artwork date: circa 1950s
Signature details: stamped with the BAHA Stamp
Edition: number 1 from an edition of 25

(1)

image size: 35 x 45 cm ; sheet size: 42 x 59.5 cm unframed

Drum magazine, founded by the son of financier Abe Bailey in 1951, modelled itself on the popular picture magazines so prevalent in that time, like Life and Picture Post. The magazine’s approach was based on the photo-essay, where photographs played a central role in the storytelling. Drum photographers and writers set a standard for picture magazines unparalleled in Africa. The magazine’s heyday was between the political bookends of the Defiance Campaign and the tragedy of the Sharpeville Massacre.

Drum captured the spirit of the urbanisation of African people in South Africa and the continent. Political stories of the time, music and cover girls, all coalesced together in a fascinating melting pot from cover to cover. Caught up in a postwar moment, the magazine reflected the influence of cinema, icons, fashion, and the spirit of liberation from the colonial past and apartheid. The photographers associated with Drum’s success were Jürgen Schadeberg, Bob Gosani, Peter Magubane, Alf Kumalo along with a host of brilliant writers like Henry (‘Mr DRUM’) Nxumalo, Can Themba, Todd Matshikiza, and Nat Nakasa. Lewis Nkosi, one of Drum’s staffers, described his talented colleagues as “the new African[s] cut adrift from the tribal reserve – urbanised, eager, fast-talking and brash”. A number of Drum writers went on to make significant contributions to African literature.

The heart of the magazine was coverage on crime, investigative reporting, sex (especially if across the ‘colour line’), and sport. This was complemented by imaginative and excellent photography. Peter Magubane described the atmosphere in the newsroom: “Drum was a different home; it did not have apartheid. There was no discrimination in the offices of Drum magazine. It was only when you left Drum and entered the world outside of the main door that you knew you were in apartheid land. But while you were inside Drum magazine, everyone there was a family.” The spirit of Drum is symbolised by the mantra, “live fast, die young and have a good-looking corpse”. The collection assembled here also encapsulates a spirit of an era in its iconic imagery and covers. The Drum archive will also be represented on the PLP online platform.

Drum magazine, March 1956: "Let the People Drink...They are Drinking anyway - In the townships there are the handsome respectable shebeens...these make you feel at home, the atmosphere is friendly and sociable." (The date of this specific picture is unknown - this could be a shebeen in Fietas (Vrededorp) or Sophiatown.)