Opanin Yaw Denteh’s Cultural & Crafts Shop [Ghana]

This ephemeral and somehwat rudimentary flyer was published in Kumasi, Ghana to advertise Opanin Yaw Denteh’s Cultural & Crafts Shop. Located in the heart of Ashanti New Town, the emporium directed by Osei Akoto-Denteh promises an English-speaking audience Ashanti gold, wood carvings, brass works, African crafts, and more. Amazingly, the business is open for 15 hours/day (except on Sundays, when it opens an hour later). A very simple map on the verso orients the reader to the location of the shop, not far from the Kejetia Roundabout (today, a historical site) and right next door to the Super Service Nite Club. Other labeled locations nearby include the University of Kumasi, Centrar Market, the City Hotel, and the Cultural Centre. Published locally by the New Era Press, Ltd., probably in the mid-1960s, not too long after Ghana’s independence from the British Empire. The simple printing style reflects the equipment available (note the handwritten correction in Ashanti). The decorative elements along the bottom of the page appear to be Christmas bells reversed and upside down. While the flyer is a rare relic of the entrepreneurial spirit present in the wake of Britain’s departure, Denteh’s shop is one of many across Ghana through which cultural artifacts and national history were sold to those with the deepest pockets.