Scenic Cape Town by Mark Skinner & Sean Fraser

Scenic Cape Town (Illustrated Cape Town Photographic Book in Dust Jacket)

A Photographic Celebration of Cape Town, from Table Mountain and the Waterfront to Cape Point and the Winelands

Bibliographic Specifications

• Title: Scenic Cape Town
• Authors: Mark Skinner & Sean Fraser
• Publisher: Sunbird Publishing, Cape Town
• Publication Date: 1999
• ISBN-13: 9780624037934
• ISBN-10: 0624037932
• Edition Details: First published 1999.
• Binding: Publisher's illustrated picture boards replicating the jacket artwork, in an illustrated dust jacket.
• Physical Format: Landscape (horizontal) format hardcover, 124 pages. Full-page and double-page colour photographs with accompanying text.
• Language: English

Official Condition Report

• The Book: Very Good Plus (VG+)
• Exterior / Boards: The picture boards replicate the jacket artwork and are clean, with no obvious damage. Corners have not been examined closely. The binding is tight and the book sits square.
• Interior: The pages are clean and bright, with no marks, inscriptions or stamps. The binding is tight.
• The Dust Jacket: Present and illustrated. There is slight wear or chipping at the head of the spine and light rubbing to the jacket edges. The jacket carries a barcode sticker with the ISBN on the back, and author biographies on the flap. It is protected in a durable archival-type plastic cover.

Synopsis & Historical Value

Scenic Cape Town is a large-format photographic portrait of the Mother City and its surroundings, with photographs by Mark Skinner and text by Sean Fraser. It celebrates the city's heritage, history and natural setting.

The journey begins in the City Centre and the Malay Quarter. It continues along the Atlantic Seaboard to Cape Point, around False Bay, and on to the Winelands and Cape Agulhas. Table Mountain, the harbour waterfront, the cable car, the coastline and the city's flowers are all featured in full-page and double-page colour plates.

Published in Cape Town in 1999, it belongs to the tradition of glossy illustrated books on the Cape that were a staple of local bookshops. It is a handsome record of how the city was presented at the close of the twentieth century, and suits collectors of Cape Town and Western Cape Africana.

Author Profile: Mark Skinner & Sean Fraser

Mark Skinner is credited as the photographer of Scenic Cape Town, while Sean Fraser wrote the accompanying text.

Fraser also produced Scenic South Africa, which appeared in 1999. The two later collaborated on The Fairest Cape: From the West Coast to the Garden Route, published by Tafelberg in 2001.