Monrovia in 1934-35 did not have shopping malls or big box stores. Much of the commerce was conducted right on the streets, in open markets. Walter Logan Fry captured two separate market areas, one within the urban center of Monrovia, and the other down the hill on the waterfront. They portray a setting reminiscent of our own early Western frontier.

Shoppers in the city market tended to be a little better dressed, while in the market near the water, dress was more casual. Monrovia was a town of great diversity. In the pictures you can see Western, Islamic and native dress, as well as the influence of the recolonization of Liberia from the American South and Northeast. It is not unlikely that many of the inland ethnic or tribal groups were also represented.

Notice the large pans of rice in one scene--rice was a staple of the Liberian diet. And notice the wood market--wood was used not so much for heating, but for cooking.

In the meat market, animals were butchered right in the open air on the ground. It could pose health risks for those unaccustomed to this method of slaughter. In the second picture of the meat market, in addition to the nine dogs, notice the hulls of boats in the top right of the picture.

I was particularly struck by the photo of a young girl in a market near the water. Ldamie's figures seem to be caracatures, perhaps a Liberian version of Robert Crump; but when you look at the picture of the young girl on the waterfront, you realize that Ldamie portrayed an idealized maiden, but that the representation came directly from life. In so many ways, the realism in Ldamie's work is paramount.

- W. Logan Fry