In the 1870s, American painter Frederick Bridgman traveled from his home in Paris to Algiers. Although he traveled to paint, his journeys so impressed him that he produced a written account that appeared in Harpers Monthly. That account became the basis of his amply illustrated Winters in Algeria. With the eyes of a thoroughly western sensibility, Bridgman was enthralled by the experience of traveling in historic Algeria. His travelogue describes the people and customs, the layout of the towns, the celebration of the Muslim religion, the black community in an Islamic context, and the legends of the people. Being a true travelogue, his narrative includes the details of his voyage to and from North Africa, taking the reader through oases, sword-fights, and an intense Sahara sandstorm.

Frederick Arthur Bridgman (1847-1928) is primarily remembered as an American painter. As soon as he could afford to do so, Bridgman moved to Paris to join the thriving American artist colony there. Traveling to Northern Africa he was so taken by his experience that he focused his work on the cultures of that region. He is now considered a doyen of the American Orientalist school of painters.