The Emirates of Yesteryear, the re-launch of the celebrated book The Seven Shaikhdoms, is a classic account of a nation s birth. It forms a unique photographic record of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Umm al Quwain, Fujairah, Ras al Khaima and Ajman before they formed the sophisticated Arab Emirates we know today. The photographs, taken by Ronald Codrai in the 1940s and 50s, depict a way of life which has almost completely vanished.