About Us
This website is dedicated to the promotion and sale of the photographs which Ronald Codrai took of the United Arab Emirates when he lived in Dubai during the period 1948-1955. Ronald Codrai passed away in May, 2000 and prints and images from his United Arab Emirates Collection are now offered to the public. The Collection is maintained by Justin Codrai and his wife, Tracy. To speak to either of them, please either telephone, fax or email them via the contact us page.
Ronald Codrai's United Arab Emirates Collection
The Collection forms the largest single collection of photographs of the United Arab Emirates from its pre-oil days. It covers virtually every aspect of life on the Trucial Coast at that time, including photographs of every ruler of every Emirate plus many of their families and offspring - many of them now rulers themselves.
Ronald Codrai
A talented and enthusiastic photographer, with a superb eye for composition, Ronald Codrai amassed a collection of thousands of images in his spare time, some of which have been published or exhibited. In 1956, he published the first colour photographs of the Emirates in an article in the National Geographic magazine. He is the author and photographer of The Emirates of Yesteryear (Stacey International, previously published under the title The Seven Shaikhdoms), the four volumes of An Arabian Album (covering Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah and the North East Shaikhdoms and Oman), One Second in the Arab World, Faces of the Emirates and Seafarers of the Emirates (all Motivate Publishing - see the Links page for booksarabia.com, Motivate Publishing's book website).
In 1975, he was awarded an OBE for 'Services to British Interests in the Lebanon'. His achievements were also noted in the Arab world and, in 1993, he was presented with the UAE Cultural and Scientific Association's Sultan Al Owais Literary Award for his Arabian Album series - the only non-Arab to win this award.
Historical Value
It is evident that Ronald Codrai's photographs and memoirs have played an influential role in preserving the history of the country. Photographs from his Collection are on display in a number of museums and collections including:- - the Dubai Museum
- the Sheikh Saeed House Museum in Dubai
- the Natural History Museum in Sharjah
- Dubai Women's College
The Ronald Codrai Collection also formed the basis for a number of publishing projects in addition to his own titles, one example being The Emirates by the First Photographers (Stacey International).
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