Casbah of Algiers
Racim was born in The Casbah of Algiers in 1896 into a distinguished family of artists of Turkish descent, whose pre-colonial prosperity had been undermined by the French regime's confiscation of property. In 1880, Racim's father had re-established a wood-carving and copper-working workshop in the Casbah of Algiers, where his brother, Omar Racim, engraved decorated tombstones. The Racim family won commissions for decorating public buildings and the pavilions of French colonial exhibitions.