Rauscher lived in a house
where the George Hotel now stands.

Two photos of his
studio, note the windows -
posed photos with a
painted backdrop required
plenty of light.

Joseph Rauscher

Rauscher was a superb photographer who worked in Swaziland in the 1880's and 90's. His clear, carefully composed and sometimes witty photos of Swaziland have never been surpassed. Often all we have of a record of this era is a few land records, newspaper cuttings and his photos which convey the feeling of the era far better than any other medium.

His photographs are still in good condition - his technique and care with chemicals were as impeccable as his eye. He supported himself in part as a medical man, he never qualified as a doctor or dentist (and never claimed to have either) but was paid to practice as both, both by the state and privately.

During the Second Boer War, he managed to serve with first the British and then the Boers. As a result the British sent his family to a concentration camp in Volksrust where his wife died. He returned to Bremersdorp (Manzini) and had to set up his photographic business again. In his absence the Boers had destroyed his studio with the rest of the town in 1901. In 1905 he sold a concession for £3200 and labelled the photo "nest egg". He moved first to Carolina and later to Pretoria where he died in 1932. He had been born in Hungary in 1851.