Daufuskie Island

Captures life on a South Carolina Sea Island before the arrival of resort culture. This book contains photographs that document what daily life was like for the last inhabitants to occupy the land prior to the onset of tourist developments.

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This book is a celebration of life in a bygone era on a South Carolina Sea Island. First published in 1982, ""Daufuskie Island"" vividly captures life on a South Carolina Sea Island before the arrival of resort culture. Located between Hilton Head and Savannah, Daufuskie Island has since become a plush resort destination. Jeanne Moutoussamy-Ashe's photographs document what daily life was like for the last inhabitants to occupy the land prior to the onset of tourist developments. When Moutoussamy-Ashe first came to Daufuskie in 1977, about eighty permanent African American residents lived on the island. Many still spoke their native Gullah dialect. They had only one store, a two-room school, a nursery, and one active church. Moustoussamy-Ashe's photographs show family gatherings, crabbing and fishing, children at play, spiritual life, and the toils of everyday existence. With the utmost respect for her notoriously shy subjects, she captured a powerful vision of their rough-hewn but rewarding life. Redesigned from cover to cover, this twenty-fifth anniversary edition of ""Daufuskie Island"" includes more than fifty previously unpublished photographs from the original contact sheets.