Extensive Portfolio of Large Early Photos of Palestine, Syria & Turkey

[MIDDLE EAST & ISLAMIC WORLD - PALESTINE, SYRIA & TURKEY] BONFILS, Félix (1831-1885); FIORILLO, Luigi (active ca. 1870s-1890s); ABDULLAH FRÈRES (active ca. 1858-1899); BERGGREN, Guillaume (1835-1920); SÉBAH, Pascal (1823-1886).

[Collection of 72 Original Albumen Studio Photos, Housed in an Attractive Period Folder, Titled:] Constantinople, Athènes, Syrie, Palestine.

Ca. 1870s-1890s. Elephant Folio folder (ca. 41x32 cm). With 72 albumen photographs, mounted on the original studio card; the photos are from ca. 22x28 cm (8 ¾ x 11 cm) to ca. 20x25,5 cm (7 ¾ x 10 in). All but eleven photos with the photographers’ signatures, captions and numbers in negative; all photos with period manuscript numbers (from 1 to 74, with two gaps) and French captions on the mounts. Period custom-made maroon half morocco folder with cloth boards; gilt-lettered title and the owner’s name (“Edouard Mignard”) on the front board; marbled endpapers. Paper label with the hand-written number “399” on the front board. A couple of images mildly faded, a couple with minor staining, mounts slightly age-toned, two mounts with minor tears or a loss of card on the margins not affecting the images; the folder rubbed on the spine and extremities; overall a very good collection of interesting strong photos.

Attractive custom-made folder with 72 albumen photographs showing the iconic and lesser-known sites of Jerusalem and Palestine (27), Damascus (11), Lebanon and Baalbek (12), Constantinople/Istanbul (14), and Athens (8). Among the photos are twenty-eight images by Félix Bonfils (studio in Beirut, active 1867-81), twenty-two images by Luigi Fiorillo (studio in Alexandria, active 1870s-1890s), nine images by the “Abdullah Frères” (studios in Constantinople, Cairo and Smyrna/Izmir, active 1860s-1890s), two images by Guillaume Berggren (studio in Constantinople, active in the 1860s-1910s), and one image attributed to Pascal Sébah (studio in Constantinople, active before 1878).
The photos of Constantinople and environs by the “Abdullah Frères,” Guillaume Berggren and Pascal Sèbah show the Golden Horn, Hagia Sophia (exterior and interior), Sultan Ahmed Mosque, Fountain of Ahmed III, Mermerkule (“Marble Tower”), Dolmabahce Palace, Rumelihisari fortress, Yuldiz Palace and mosque during the Sultan’s Selamlik (Friday prayer) ceremony, a Muslim cemetery in Scutari, a group of Turkish ladies on a ride in a carriage, a pack of infamous stray dogs, etc. The photos of Lebanon by Félix Bonfils include rare views of Beirut, the town of Zahlé and Souq Wadi Barada village (the two latter are located in the Anti-Lebanon mountains), and nine views of the Baalbek temple complex (general views, the Acropolis, the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of Jupiter, courtyard chambers, the Stone of the Pregnant Woman monolith, etc.).
The photos of Damascus by Félix Bonfils include general views of the city and the Citadel, as well as views of the “Dervicherie” (the Tekkiye Mosque complex), the Great Mosque and its landmarks (the Minaret of the Bride, the ablution fountain, the tomb of John the Baptist), the Arch of Triumph, “the wall through which Saint Paul escaped,” the mausoleum of Fatima (“a daughter of Prophet Muhammad”), the interior of English and German consulates, and a Jewish house.
The photos of Jerusalem and Palestine by Luigi Fiorillo and Félix Bonfils include general views of Jerusalem taken from different locations, images of the Dome of the Rock (general view, the interior, Dome of the Chain), the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (entrance, Chapel of the Invention of the Holy Cross, the Aedicule), Fountain of Qayt Bay on the Temple Mount, Al-Aqsa Mosque, the Golden Gate, the Wailing Wall, Hezekiah’s Pool, King David’s Tomb and Cenacle at Mount Zion, olive trees in the Gardens of Gethsemani, Mount of Olives (the Church of Ascension, the Catholic church of the Pater Noster), Mar Saba Greek Orthodox monastery (two general views, the interior of the church), the Tomb of Absalon (Kidron Valley), the Dead Sea, the Tower of Forty Martyrs in Rahmleh (Ramla), Sabil Abut Nabbut fountain in Jaffa (Tel Aviv-Yafo), Nazareth, etc. The photos of Athens depict various sites of the Acropolis (general views taken from different points, close-up views of the Parthenon, the caryatid porch of the Erechteum, the Theatre of Dionysus, the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the Theseion, etc.).
Overall an attractive collection of large well-preserved albumen photos of the Mediterranean and the Holy Land, taken by some of the best Middle Eastern studios of the time.
A list of photos:
The photos signed “Bonfils”: 23) 481. Beyrouth et le Liban (Syrie); 24) 470. Zaléh, village de l’Anti-Liban (Syrie); 25) 438. Vue générale de Balbek, Syrie; 26) 439. Balbek. Vue de l’Acropole; 27) 457. Balbek. Colonnes du temple du Soleil; 28) 441. Balbek. Temple de Jupiter pris du nord-est, Syrie; 29) 454. Balbek. Intérieur du temple de Jupiter; 30) 451. Balbek. Plafond du pérystile du temple de Jupiter; 31) 461. Balbek. Chambre carrée; 32) 465. Balbek. Temple circulaire; 33) 469. Pierre du midi á Balbek, Syrie; 34) 810. Anti-Liban. Vue générale de Souk-Wadi Barradou; 35) 418. Damas. Vue générale de la forteresse; 36) 403. Damas. Dervicherie, séjour des péterins se rendant á la Mecque, Syrie; 37) 408. Damas. Minaret de la Fiancée, Syrie; 38) 410. Damas. Fontaine des ablutions dans la cour de la grande Mosquée; 39) 422. Damas. Tombeau de Saint-Jean dans la grande mosquée; 40) 421. Damas. Arc de triomphe; 41) 417. Damas. Mur par oú Saint-Paul s’est enfui; 42) 427. Damas. Tombeau de la fille de Muhamed; 43) 33. Damas. Intérieur de maison Consul anglais, Syrie; 44) 802. Damas. Salon du consulat d’Allemagne; 45) 431. Damas. Intérieur de maison juive de Stambouli, Syrie; 54) 26. Tribunal de David pres la mosquée d’Omar á Jérusalem; 61) 245. Jérusalem. Mur oú les Juifs vont pleurer; 66) 305. Olivier du jardin de Gethsémanie, Jérusalem; 69) 340. Convent de Mar-Saba, Palestine; 72) 341. La Mer morte, Palestine.
The photos signed “L. Fiorillo”: 46) 350. Nazareth (En Naçira). Vue générale; 47) 156. Jérusalem. Vue générale; 48) 639. Jérusalem. Entrée de l’Eglise du Saint Sépulcre; 49) 138. Jérusalem. Saint Sépulcre, Entrée de l’Eglise Grecque; 50) 137. Jérusalem. Le Saint Sépulcre, trou du feu sacré; 51) 141. Jérusalem. Saint Sépulcre, Eglise de l’invention de la croix; 52) 667. Jérusalem. Mosquée d’Omar; 53) 670. Jérusalem. Mosquée d’Omar, Intérieur; 55) 664. Jérusalem. Mosquée d’Omar, la chaire à prêcher; 56) 799. Jérusalem. Fontaine Kaid-Bey dans la cour de la Mosquée Omar; 57) 673. Jérusalem. Mosquée el Aksa; 58) 676. Jérusalem. Mosquée el Aksa, Intérieur; 59) 685. Jérusalem. Porte dorée, Intérieur; 60) 656. Jérusalem. Reservoir d’Ezechias; 62) 808. Jérusalem. Le Cénacle Mont-Sion; 63) 711. Jérusalem. (Environs). Vallée et Tombeau de Josaphat; 64) 179. Jérusalem. (Environs). Mont des oliviers, Mosquée de l’ascension; 65) 782. Jérusalem. Mont des Oliviers, La court de l’eglise du Pater; 70) 744. Jérusalem. (Environs). Convent de mar Saba; 71) 748. Eglise Saint Saba; 73) 612. Ramleh. Tour des quarante martyrs; 74) 610. Jaffa. Fontaine Abou Nabout.
The photos signed “Abdullah Frères”: 1) Corne d’Or. 355; 2) Sainte Sophie. 47; 4) Ste. Sophie. Vue intérieure. 68; 5) Mosquée du Sultan Ahmed. 83; 9) Les Chiens des rues; 11) Mermer Kale. 281; 12) Palais de Dolma-baghtché. 348; 13) Rouméli-Hissar. 449; 14) Cimetière Turc à Scutari. 231.
The photos signed “G. Berggren”: 6) Mosquée de Saltan Ahmed No. 86; 8) Vue du Yildiz Kiosque et de la mosquée Hamidiée. No. 226 [during the Selamlik Friday prayer ceremony].
Unsigned photos (8 views of Athens, 3 views of Constantinople): 3) Constantinople. Intérieur de Sainte Sophie [manuscript caption]; 7) Constantinople. Fontaine d’Ahmed; 10) [Ox-Drawn Carriage at Yuşa Hill, attribute to Pascal Sèbah]; 15) Athènes. Vue de l’Acropole prise de l’Aréopage; 16) Athènes. Vue de l’Acropole et du Parthénon; 17) Athènes. Vue de l’Acropole et du Parthénon; 18) 16) Athènes. Acropole. Portique des Cariatides; 19) Athènes. Théatre de Bacchus; 20) Athènes. Temple de Jupiter Olympien; 21) Athènes. Temple de Thésée; 22) Athènes. Reproduction antique de la Minerve de Phidias.

Item #393

Price: $3,250.00 USD