Landi Kotal Pass
1879
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
1879
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
You see a steep mountain pass with soldiers marching along a narrow dirt road. This photo isn’t from a battlefield—it’s one of the first ever taken in Afghanistan during war. The photographer, John Burke, lugged heavy glass plates and chemicals over rough terrain to document the land, not the fighting. The image feels quiet, but it’s part of history: the Second Anglo-Afghan War. To see more early war photography, look up John Burke (Irish, 1845–1915).
