RARE 19TH-CENTURY PHOTOGRAPH ALBUM, WITH 48 SPLENDID MOUNTED VINTAGE ALBUMEN, COLLOTYPE AND GELATIN SILVER PRINTS, INCLUDING 19 PRINTS OF ALGIERS BY AWARD-WINNING PHOTOGRAPHER ALEXANDRE LEROUX, ALONG WITH VIEWS OF ITALY, INCLUDING IMAGES OF PALERMO AND MESSINA BY LEDRU MAURO, A SERIES ON GENOA BY FAMED PHOTOGRAPHER ALFRED NOACK, AND EIGHT PRINTS OF PARIS

(MIDEAST) LEROUX, Alexandre, MAURO, Ledru, NOACK, Alfred et al. Photograph Album. Algiers, Italy, Paris. Algiers, Italy, Paris: circa 1880. Oblong quarto, contemporary pebbled cloth boards rebacked and recornered in black morocco gilt, 48 vintage albumen, collotype, carbon prints (variously measuring 9 by 12 inches to 7-1/2 by 10 inches ), mounted on heavy card stock (each leaf measuring 11 by 13-1/2 inches), watered silk endpapers. $4800.

Rare photograph album of 48 splendid vintage mounted albumen, collotype and gelatin silver prints of Algiers, Italy and Paris, circa 1880, with an exceptional series of 19 exhibition-size prints of Algiers by renowned photographer Leroux, including exquisite views of the Mosque of Sidi Abderrahamane, the Notre Dame d'Afrique and beautiful portraits of Arab men and women, along with nine prints of Genoa by Noack, views of Messina by Mauro, views of Palermo, including the catacombs, and images of Paris—including the Eiffel Tower and more.

Prints include 19 by award-winning photographer Alexandre Leroux, who was a member of the Academie des Beaux-Arts d'Alger and directed the bimonthly L'Algérie Illustrée. His photographs offer a rare glimpse into the rich cultural life of Algiers, its people, architecture, religious sites and governmental palaces. Of particular interest are Leroux's views of the 11th-century Mosque of Sidi Abderrahamane, one of Algiers' most ancient mosques, and the pilgrimage church of Notre Dame d'Afrique. Also featured are nine vintage prints of Genoa by photographer Alfredo Noack, one of the region's "most important professional photographers … These images contributed to… a certain image of Italy throughout the world, an Italy that could be identified by its treasures and incontestable art historical supremacy" (Hannavy I:755). Additional prints of Italy are by photographer Ledru Mauro, with Palermo's harbor, catacombs, cathedral, and "Chapel of Bones," and panoramic vistas of Messina, along with views by an unidentified photographer of the Ducal Palace of Saint Stephen and ancient ruins. This handsome vintage album concludes with eight beautiful albumen prints of Paris by unidentified photographer(s), including images of the Eiffel Tower, the Opera House, Trocadéro Palace, the Church of the Madeleine, the Champs-Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe. Prints by Leroux, Noack and Mauro are notably archived in museums such as the Getty and at Yale. Most prints with identifying captions, photography studio catalogue numbers, photographer and/or studio names in the negatives. Inked captions on many print mounts. Bookseller ticket.

Prints very fresh, mounts with occasional marginal foxing not affecting prints.