Egypt and Palestine. Österlandet by Algot Sätterström, Mattias Sätterström, and Mark Smith.

Muzot Press, 2007. First edition, hardbound in gray cloth with photo mounted on front cover, not issued with dust jacket. With custom made polyester protector. Near fine with crimps at bottom of pages near spine (occurred during binding). In 2004, Mattias Satterstrom and Mark Smith retraced the steps of Mattias’ great-grandfather Algot Sätterström through his photographs of Egypt and Palestine in 1904-1905.  As a rephotography project, the book pairs views of the same scenes 100 years apart, plus additional photos taken in 2004 in Egypt and Israel. 247 pages.  Photo of cover accompanying this listing is without the polyester protector.  Summary:

Österlandet is a photographic travel and historical project that bridges a century between past and present in the Middle East by retracing the footsteps of Swedish painter and inventor Algot Sätterström. The book was published in 2007 and is structured around the discovery of a box of Algot’s personal materials — including a journal, letters, and glass-plate negatives — from his time living in Egypt and Jerusalem in 1903–1905.

After finding this material in 2003, Algot’s great-grandson Mattias Sätterström set out to follow his ancestor’s journey exactly 100 years later, accompanied by photographer Mark Smith. The resulting book juxtaposes Algot’s early twentieth-century imagery and writings with photographs taken by Mattias and Mark in 2003–2004, offering a visual record of how places like Cairo, Luxor, Alexandria, and Jerusalem have changed — socially, culturally, and physically — over a century.

A central theme of Österlandet is this dialogue between eras: the editors and photographers emulate many of Algot’s original compositions to show both continuity and transformation in landscapes, architecture, and everyday life. This creates a rich, layered narrative about history, memory, and cultural change.

The book also explores Algot’s connection with the American Colony photographers in Jerusalem — a notable early photographic collective — and includes contextual material such as excerpts from Algot’s letters, which describe his adventures and experiences, including artistic work, travel challenges, and his personal impressions of the region.

In sum, Österlandet is both a tribute and a time-spanning portrait, using photography and archival discovery to reconnect the early 1900s with the early 2000s, illuminating a century of continuity and change in Middle Eastern places deeply shaped by history.