HCM CITY — Two books featuring the history of South Việt Nam were released by HCM City publishing houses last week.    

Xứ Nam Kỳ - La Cochinchine (South Việt Nam), published by the Hồng Đức Publishing House in co-operation with Xưa & Nay (Past & Present) magazine, features 465 photographs with captions about the history and culture of the south in the 1920s.

The work is written by Marcel Bernanose, who worked for French authorities in Indochina.

The photos in the book were shot by famous artist Nadal. Four-hundred copies were first printed in 1921 in Hà Nội.  

Cultural researcher Trương Ngọc Tường of Cai Lậy Town in Tiền Giang Province has one of the original books.   

The publishers, Hồng Đức and Xưa & Nay, used Tường’s copy to reprint the book based on the first publication.   

The book, published in French, English and Vietnamese, includes photos of urban life and architecture in Sài Gòn and the Cửu Long (Mekong) River Delta provinces in the 1920s, including Bến Tre, Vĩnh Long, Trà Vinh, Long Xuyên, Sóc Trăng, Bạc Liêu, Rạch Giá, Châu Đốc and Hà Tiên.

The author offers general information about the history, geography, culture and lifestyle of each location. 

Another book on Sài Gòn was also released by the HCM City Culture-Art & Literature Publishing House and Phan Books. 

The book, Sài Gòn – Những Biểu Tượng (Memories of Sài Gòn), features Sài Gòn between the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

It includes 21 writings about the city’s politics, economy and culture of different periods.

Featured articles are written by well-known historians and authors including Du Tử Lê, Hà Vũ Trọng, Huỳnh Như Phương and Phan Triều Hải. 

The 184-page book has several pictures and photos in black and white featuring old streets, buildings, markets and tourist sites related to the city’s history and development.       

Both books are available in bookstores. — VNS