A punt with oxen work in the suger cane fields of British Guyana, 1958

A punt with oxen work in the suger cane fields of British Guyana, 1958. Bookers Brothers had a major influence on the economic life of Guyana and the Caribbean until independence in 1966 when British Guiana became Guyana . The firm employed thousands of people on low wages in a wide range of businesses that had developed from the family¿s sugar plantations of the 19th Century. So great was the hold on the country that the then British Colony was often referred to as Booker¿s Guyana. Not only did the company own all of the sugar plantations they also lead the import and export of all goods with a fleet of their own ships. The elegant Bookers Universal Store complex in Georgetown was a model of colonial achievement. The sugar interests were nationalised in 1971. Photographed by Walter Nurnberg (1907-1991) who transformed industial and commercial photography after WW2 using film studio lighting techniques. Photographie ©SSPL/NMeM/Walter Nurnberg