How much would you pay for a rare photograph taken by one of the first great photographers in Kenya?
There are people who deal in gold, art, securities, rare photographs, Baseball cards, NFTs and Cryptos to hedge against inflation.
Sometimes it is in a close-knit society where friends exchange the above to hold value for their money.
Are you a Kenyan art collector? Do we have a Kenyan who likes collecting rare arts, photographs etc?
According to Wikipedia, Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Mona Lisa is listed as the World’s Most expensive by the Guinness World Records.
On permanent display at the Louvre in Paris, the Mona Lisa was assessed at US$100 million (Sh12 billion) on December 14, 1962. Taking inflation into account, the 1962 value would be around US$900 million (Sh112 billion) in 2021.
Recently, Kenyan author Rasna Warah asked a similar question about a rare photograph taken by her father.
“My late father had this iconic photo signed by both Jomo Kenyatta and Tom Mboya. I believe it is a collector’s item and is probably very valuable. Any idea how much it might be worth?,” Rasna Warah wrote on Twitter (@RasnaWarah)
Presidential portrait
Kulwant Singh Warah, the founder of one of Kenya’s first photography ventures took a lot of memorable pictures.
He did a great service to the nation through his Studio One.

There’s more
@bonifacemwangi Some of these photos (e.g. Tom Mboya) were taken by my father Kulwant Singh Warah of Studio One. https://t.co/H2i1gT4FWo
— Rasna Warah (@RasnaWarah) January 8, 2018
Oh wow @RasnaWarah so cool! We have a number of very special Studio One black and white family portraits! Outside of his excellent work, do you have an idea of why your dad’s studio was so famous? I feel like between Studio One and Ramogi Studios there may not have been choices
— Mũthoni Mũrĩu (@jmmuriu) August 24, 2020
“I think my father was an artist first and foremost, and he loved what he did. He made everyone believe they were beautiful, and he did this by taking amazing photos of them. No warts, just beauty,” Rasna fondly reminisces.
Jomo Kenyatta and Tom Mboya
The two friends had a rare meeting.
A photo shows them together, engaged in a dialogue, was captured by Kulwant Singh Warah of Studio One.
Mr Kulwant Singh Warah of Studio One had both Kenyatta and Mbiya sign the photograph.
This is an autographed collector’s item.
Is a collector’s item a preserve of the rich only?
How much would you pay for this photo, the original physical one? (somebody kindly share this article to former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and ex-President Uhuru Kenyatta)

My late father had this iconic photo signed by both Jomo Kenyatta and Tom Mboya. I believe it is a collector's item and is probably very valuable. Any idea how much it might be worth? pic.twitter.com/2l1qX7mgZ3
— Rasna Warah (@RasnaWarah) February 4, 2023
EKOROI
Sh3 million https://t.co/1q51fNxTr3
— Ekoroi Blog (@Ekoroi_) February 4, 2023
Find me a buyer and we can talk. https://t.co/lScEtGbIiH
— Rasna Warah (@RasnaWarah) February 4, 2023
Place your bids. Also share the link with your friends, in your groups:
contact@ekoroi.com; rasna.warah@gmail.com