Sets of Early Travel Photos
1845 The Officers of the Franklin Expedition
2023 SOLD for £ 445K by Sotheby's
An Arctic explorer since as early as 1819, Sir John Franklin was commissioned in 1845 by the British Admiralty to lead an expedition in the last un-navigated sections of the Northwest Passage in Canada. The HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror, back in 1843 from the Ross expedition, are retrofitted for Franklin.
The photographic artist Richard Beard had acquired in 1841 a monopoly for the daguerréotype patents in England and Wales. A few days before Franklin's departure from Kent with a crew of 24 officers and 110 men in May 1845, Beard went on board the Erebus on commission from Franklin's wife to make plein air photos in three quarter length of the top officers including Sir John.
Two sets of daguerreotypes were made. One of them of 14 portraits in sixth plate format 70 x 83 mm was hand colored with additional shell gold applied to the buttons, hat bands and epaulettes. It was kept in period in four rows in a folding morocco case 203 x 340 x 22 mm. This set in its box arrangement was used in 1851 for a woodcut print in mirror image published in an edition of The Illustrated London News.
This boxed set was still in 1851 in Beard's ownership. Hoarded from an unknown date to Sir John's family, it has just surfaced. It was sold for £ 445K from a lower estimate of £ 150K by Sotheby's on September 21, 2013, lot 265.
The other set of only 12 officers has not been boxed. It was originally attributed to Lady Franklin and transferred in 1941 by the family to the Scott Polar Research Institute.
The Franklin expedition was ill fated with no survivors. The icebound ships had been abandoned. Remnants of a camp was found as early as 1850. The wrecks were found in 2014 and 2016.
The photographic artist Richard Beard had acquired in 1841 a monopoly for the daguerréotype patents in England and Wales. A few days before Franklin's departure from Kent with a crew of 24 officers and 110 men in May 1845, Beard went on board the Erebus on commission from Franklin's wife to make plein air photos in three quarter length of the top officers including Sir John.
Two sets of daguerreotypes were made. One of them of 14 portraits in sixth plate format 70 x 83 mm was hand colored with additional shell gold applied to the buttons, hat bands and epaulettes. It was kept in period in four rows in a folding morocco case 203 x 340 x 22 mm. This set in its box arrangement was used in 1851 for a woodcut print in mirror image published in an edition of The Illustrated London News.
This boxed set was still in 1851 in Beard's ownership. Hoarded from an unknown date to Sir John's family, it has just surfaced. It was sold for £ 445K from a lower estimate of £ 150K by Sotheby's on September 21, 2013, lot 265.
The other set of only 12 officers has not been boxed. It was originally attributed to Lady Franklin and transferred in 1941 by the family to the Scott Polar Research Institute.
The Franklin expedition was ill fated with no survivors. The icebound ships had been abandoned. Remnants of a camp was found as early as 1850. The wrecks were found in 2014 and 2016.
1847 Chemistry and Photography
2016 SOLD for € 255K including premium
The daguerréotype, revealed in France in 1839, is a wonderful technical feat. Meanwhile in England, William Henry Fox Talbot is developing the negative process that will produce multiple prints on paper from a single shoot. Talbot patents the calotype in 1841 and publishes in 1844 Pencil of Nature, the first book illustrated with photographs.
In France photography was offered to the nation. Chemists and artists multiply their experiments without neglecting the study of Talbot's processes. In 1847 Blanquart-Evrard and Guillot-Saguez publish independently of one another their improvements of the calotype.
Twelve years earlier Dr. Guillot, a chemist, had married Amélie Saguez, a painter. The couple used the double name Guillot-Saguez for art and business.
Italy irresistibly appeals the first French photographers for a practical reason. They need a strong sunlight to process their sensitive emulsions extremely slow at that time. The Guillot-Saguez join in 1845 this small community that uses to meet in Rome in the Caffè Greco.
Amélie makes photos. She is the only female artist in the group. In 1847 she assembles in an album 37 salt paper prints to the attention of a woman from whom she feels very close. Several pictures are signed either in the negative or in ink on the photo. This series includes an interesting variety of Roman monuments and themes including the close-up portrait of a pifferaro.
The album is estimated € 200K for sale by Christie's in Paris on November 10, lot 66.
This exceptional set anticipates by four years the four major technical and cultural advances that finally allow photography to compete with lithography as a major technique of illustration : the invention of the wet collodion process by Archer, the creation of the Imprimerie Photographique by Blanquart-Evrard, the foundation of the Société Héliographique and the recognition by the Commission des monuments historiques of the irreplaceable advantage of the photographic accuracy.
In France photography was offered to the nation. Chemists and artists multiply their experiments without neglecting the study of Talbot's processes. In 1847 Blanquart-Evrard and Guillot-Saguez publish independently of one another their improvements of the calotype.
Twelve years earlier Dr. Guillot, a chemist, had married Amélie Saguez, a painter. The couple used the double name Guillot-Saguez for art and business.
Italy irresistibly appeals the first French photographers for a practical reason. They need a strong sunlight to process their sensitive emulsions extremely slow at that time. The Guillot-Saguez join in 1845 this small community that uses to meet in Rome in the Caffè Greco.
Amélie makes photos. She is the only female artist in the group. In 1847 she assembles in an album 37 salt paper prints to the attention of a woman from whom she feels very close. Several pictures are signed either in the negative or in ink on the photo. This series includes an interesting variety of Roman monuments and themes including the close-up portrait of a pifferaro.
The album is estimated € 200K for sale by Christie's in Paris on November 10, lot 66.
This exceptional set anticipates by four years the four major technical and cultural advances that finally allow photography to compete with lithography as a major technique of illustration : the invention of the wet collodion process by Archer, the creation of the Imprimerie Photographique by Blanquart-Evrard, the foundation of the Société Héliographique and the recognition by the Commission des monuments historiques of the irreplaceable advantage of the photographic accuracy.
1852 Dessins Photographiques from Alexandria to Baalbek
2016 SOLD for € 205K including premium
Antique monuments are arousing some intense curiosity in France at the time of romanticism. Flaubert and Du Camp get government grants in 1849 for a trip to the East.
Maxime Du Camp trains in photography for preparing their mission. He is one of the first tourists to understand the increased documentary hit of this technique through the calotype process recently improved by Blanquart-Evrard.
The two young men arrived in Alexandria in November 1849. Gustave was amused by the fury of "Max" to take photos. Their long journey leads them to Karnak, Medinet Habu and Philae. In September 1850 Maxime is photographing Baalbek. Happy with the progress of his project, he sells his camera.
His 214 negative photos are processed in Rome in 1851. The positive prints will be done on papier salé (salt paper), a superb technique that offers an excellent preservation of the images.
Back in Paris, Du Camp prepares his album that will be published in 1852 by Gide et Baudry in folio size 43 x 31 cm under the title Egypte, Nubie, Palestine et Syrie. The author had selected 125 photos which are pasted on strong vellum and accompanied by 61 pages of comments.
This book is extremely rare. A complete copy with all its images in very good condition is estimated € 200K for sale by Christie's in Paris on April 22, lot 73.
The views of Orient by Du Camp are the first consistent collection of travel photographs. The high quality of their printing was still impossible less than five years earlier.
This sudden passion to which he gave no following was a remarkable breakthrough when considering that the project for recording French monuments now designated as the Mission Héliographique dates from 1851, when Du Camp had already completed his "dessins photographiques".
Maxime Du Camp trains in photography for preparing their mission. He is one of the first tourists to understand the increased documentary hit of this technique through the calotype process recently improved by Blanquart-Evrard.
The two young men arrived in Alexandria in November 1849. Gustave was amused by the fury of "Max" to take photos. Their long journey leads them to Karnak, Medinet Habu and Philae. In September 1850 Maxime is photographing Baalbek. Happy with the progress of his project, he sells his camera.
His 214 negative photos are processed in Rome in 1851. The positive prints will be done on papier salé (salt paper), a superb technique that offers an excellent preservation of the images.
Back in Paris, Du Camp prepares his album that will be published in 1852 by Gide et Baudry in folio size 43 x 31 cm under the title Egypte, Nubie, Palestine et Syrie. The author had selected 125 photos which are pasted on strong vellum and accompanied by 61 pages of comments.
This book is extremely rare. A complete copy with all its images in very good condition is estimated € 200K for sale by Christie's in Paris on April 22, lot 73.
The views of Orient by Du Camp are the first consistent collection of travel photographs. The high quality of their printing was still impossible less than five years earlier.
This sudden passion to which he gave no following was a remarkable breakthrough when considering that the project for recording French monuments now designated as the Mission Héliographique dates from 1851, when Du Camp had already completed his "dessins photographiques".
1854 The Truth on Jerusalem
2013 SOLD 460 K€ including premium
In 1851, the Commission des monuments historiques encourages the photography of French monuments by the best operators of that time. The success is significant and opens the door to new experiences.
Enthusiast in archeology, Auguste Salzmann gets a similar mission from the French government for photographing Rhodes. Annoyed by the controversy generated by the excellent work made by Félicien de Saulcy for dating the monuments of Jerusalem, he changes his travel plan. Photography is the modern way of providing evidence of the age and the Judaic origins of the monuments of this city.
In 1854, Salzmann shoots nearly 200 negatives in Jerusalem, in landscape or portrait position, on waxed paper 23 x 32 cm. The photography becomes through him an essential tool for scholars.
The duc de Luynes was an active sponsor of the development of photographic techniques. He buys a positive copy on salt paper of the Salzmann images printed in Lille in 1854 by Blanquart-Evrard.
The Luynes collection of Salzmann photos is the most complete than can be imagined because it even includes fifteen views that will not be selected for the 1856 edition. Around this time, 189 photos are assembled for Luynes in two volumes and the duc joins the first edition of the text.
This set is extremely important in the history of documentary photography. The lot is cautiously estimated € 120K, for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on October 22. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot is very important in the history of early French photography and was obviously worth more than its estimate even if the condition of the cards used for mounting the views was not great. It was sold for € 460K including premium.
Enthusiast in archeology, Auguste Salzmann gets a similar mission from the French government for photographing Rhodes. Annoyed by the controversy generated by the excellent work made by Félicien de Saulcy for dating the monuments of Jerusalem, he changes his travel plan. Photography is the modern way of providing evidence of the age and the Judaic origins of the monuments of this city.
In 1854, Salzmann shoots nearly 200 negatives in Jerusalem, in landscape or portrait position, on waxed paper 23 x 32 cm. The photography becomes through him an essential tool for scholars.
The duc de Luynes was an active sponsor of the development of photographic techniques. He buys a positive copy on salt paper of the Salzmann images printed in Lille in 1854 by Blanquart-Evrard.
The Luynes collection of Salzmann photos is the most complete than can be imagined because it even includes fifteen views that will not be selected for the 1856 edition. Around this time, 189 photos are assembled for Luynes in two volumes and the duc joins the first edition of the text.
This set is extremely important in the history of documentary photography. The lot is cautiously estimated € 120K, for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on October 22. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot is very important in the history of early French photography and was obviously worth more than its estimate even if the condition of the cards used for mounting the views was not great. It was sold for € 460K including premium.
1855 British Colonial Photography
2011 SOLD 240 K£ including premium
The mid-1850s was a golden age for travel photography. An officer of the British Indian Army named Linnaeus Tripe then became a pioneer of photography in South and Southeast Asia, almost ten years before Samuel Bourne.
Photographic techniques improved, and photographers could now cope successfully with the hot and humid climates. Tripe was using waxed paper negatives, which enabled beautiful light and shade effects. The albumenized positives with hyposulphite of gold provide a nice violet hue.
Supported by the Marquess of Dalhousie, Governor General of India, Tripe began by photographing Mysore in 1854. This series is extremely rare. His photographic journey in Burma in 1855 is both better known and more prestigious. These images were printed in 50 copies to be assembled into albums.
On October 4 in London, Bonhams sells a volume containing 112 views of Burma, estimated £ 70K. A photo is shown in the press release shared by AuctionPublicity.
Three lots are included in the sale of Sotheby's in London on November 15. Some images were unpublished. A remarkable set of 54 views of Mysore is estimated £ 100K. The set of 134 views of Burma is the most complete known copy. It is estimated £ 200K. A photo is shown in the press release shared by AuctionPublicity.
The third group, estimated £ 40K, includes 36 photographs of Burma.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
Let us begin with the result for the lot sold by Bonhams: £ 85K excluding fees, 103K including premium.
2
Excellent results were recorded on the three lots presented by Sotheby's: £ 240K for the 134 photographs of Burma, 180K for the 56 rare photographs of Mysore and 133K for the other lot of Burma.
These results include the premium.
Photographic techniques improved, and photographers could now cope successfully with the hot and humid climates. Tripe was using waxed paper negatives, which enabled beautiful light and shade effects. The albumenized positives with hyposulphite of gold provide a nice violet hue.
Supported by the Marquess of Dalhousie, Governor General of India, Tripe began by photographing Mysore in 1854. This series is extremely rare. His photographic journey in Burma in 1855 is both better known and more prestigious. These images were printed in 50 copies to be assembled into albums.
On October 4 in London, Bonhams sells a volume containing 112 views of Burma, estimated £ 70K. A photo is shown in the press release shared by AuctionPublicity.
Three lots are included in the sale of Sotheby's in London on November 15. Some images were unpublished. A remarkable set of 54 views of Mysore is estimated £ 100K. The set of 134 views of Burma is the most complete known copy. It is estimated £ 200K. A photo is shown in the press release shared by AuctionPublicity.
The third group, estimated £ 40K, includes 36 photographs of Burma.
POST SALE COMMENTS
1
Let us begin with the result for the lot sold by Bonhams: £ 85K excluding fees, 103K including premium.
2
Excellent results were recorded on the three lots presented by Sotheby's: £ 240K for the 134 photographs of Burma, 180K for the 56 rare photographs of Mysore and 133K for the other lot of Burma.
These results include the premium.
1858 The Travels of Francis Frith into the Middle East
2012 SOLD 340 K£ including premium
Fascinated by photography, a shop owner of Liverpool abandons his business and leaves for the Middle East. Francis Frith is not the first photographer to explore this region, but he is the most renowned for the great artistic care of his compositions.
His first trip, in 1856-1857, took him to Egypt and Nubia. Two processes are then popular and complementary: stereoscopy, which supersedes engraving in the dissemination of knowledge, and the very large size, which is already a precursor of artistic photography.
The work of such traveling photographers was a real technical challenge. The wet collodion requires an immediate treatment of the negative in a dark tent. All this fragile chemistry must withstand high temperatures and dust. Above all, the photo enlargement of good quality does not exist at that time and the equipment itself is quite cumbersome.
The second trip, in 1858, included Sinai and Jerusalem in addition to Egypt. Back in England, Frith selects twenty photographic views to illustrate a book. The size is mammoth: albumen prints of 49 x 39 cm in large folio sheets 77 x 55 cm.
A copy is estimated £ 50K, for sale by Bonhams in London (Knightsbridge) on June 12. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
This book was obviously more important than its estimate. It has achieved an excellent price: £ 340K including premium.
His first trip, in 1856-1857, took him to Egypt and Nubia. Two processes are then popular and complementary: stereoscopy, which supersedes engraving in the dissemination of knowledge, and the very large size, which is already a precursor of artistic photography.
The work of such traveling photographers was a real technical challenge. The wet collodion requires an immediate treatment of the negative in a dark tent. All this fragile chemistry must withstand high temperatures and dust. Above all, the photo enlargement of good quality does not exist at that time and the equipment itself is quite cumbersome.
The second trip, in 1858, included Sinai and Jerusalem in addition to Egypt. Back in England, Frith selects twenty photographic views to illustrate a book. The size is mammoth: albumen prints of 49 x 39 cm in large folio sheets 77 x 55 cm.
A copy is estimated £ 50K, for sale by Bonhams in London (Knightsbridge) on June 12. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
This book was obviously more important than its estimate. It has achieved an excellent price: £ 340K including premium.
1860 The British Army enters Beijing
2013 SOLD 220 K£ including premium
Felice Beato is one of the precursors of photojournalism. He visited after Fenton the sites of the Crimean War, and followed the British Army in India and China. He is the first to perform negatives during the military operations and to photograph the corpses of enemies.
He manages to make positive prints soon after the events to supply them to officers eager to bring home some views of war sites and of monuments.
Beato arrived in China in early 1860 and participated in the Battle of Taku. Accompanying the army, he was the first photographer to come into Beijing and entered the Summer Palace just before it was deliberately burned by the allied troops.
On May 14 in London, Sotheby's sells an album including 18 photos of China by Beato. This group had been sold in 1860 by the photographer to a young officer who dated and annotated the views. The open estimate, £ 100K to 200K, confirms the quality and rarity of this lot.
Three images are exceptional: a double view of Taku Fort, a view of a tower of the Summer Palace before destruction, and a 180 ° panorama in six adjacent plates totaling 22 x 173 cm showing Beijing from the South Gate towards the Forbidden City. They illustrate the article shared by the Daily Mail.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot was sold £ 220K including premium, in the region of its higher estimate.
He manages to make positive prints soon after the events to supply them to officers eager to bring home some views of war sites and of monuments.
Beato arrived in China in early 1860 and participated in the Battle of Taku. Accompanying the army, he was the first photographer to come into Beijing and entered the Summer Palace just before it was deliberately burned by the allied troops.
On May 14 in London, Sotheby's sells an album including 18 photos of China by Beato. This group had been sold in 1860 by the photographer to a young officer who dated and annotated the views. The open estimate, £ 100K to 200K, confirms the quality and rarity of this lot.
Three images are exceptional: a double view of Taku Fort, a view of a tower of the Summer Palace before destruction, and a 180 ° panorama in six adjacent plates totaling 22 x 173 cm showing Beijing from the South Gate towards the Forbidden City. They illustrate the article shared by the Daily Mail.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot was sold £ 220K including premium, in the region of its higher estimate.
1860 On the Track of the Crusaders
2013 SOLD 200 K€ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
When we are just over twenty years old, it is the right time to discover the world. In 1859, Louis de Clercq is nominated to join as a photographer the mission of an archaeologist for studying the military fortresses of the Crusaders in Syria.
After five months, when the scholar has completed his work, De Clercq lingers in the East. Passionate about his work, he then photographed Palestine, Egypt and Spain. Back to Paris in 1860, he published the photographs of his trip in fifty copies.
This set entitled Voyage en Orient consists of 222 photographs on albumen paper, including a few panoramic views.The author has assembled six albums in five volumes : the Calvary stations were joined with the Palestine album.
This work is original. It is probably the first photo essay on the Christian military remains in Syria, and the first systematic photo tour of the Via Dolorosa. Moreover, in the great French tradition of photographic archaeological record, his images are perfectly centered on the monument, in a beautiful light.
The copy for sale on December 20 by Vincent Wapler in Paris is exceptional. Having remained up to now in the family of the artist, it is complete and in good condition. It is estimated € 150K.
This estimate is reasonable. On 20 June 2006, Aguttes had sold for € 265K before fees an incomplete set where the album on military forts which had been the primary goal of this beautiful trip was missing.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, € 160K before fees, is in line with the estimate.
When we are just over twenty years old, it is the right time to discover the world. In 1859, Louis de Clercq is nominated to join as a photographer the mission of an archaeologist for studying the military fortresses of the Crusaders in Syria.
After five months, when the scholar has completed his work, De Clercq lingers in the East. Passionate about his work, he then photographed Palestine, Egypt and Spain. Back to Paris in 1860, he published the photographs of his trip in fifty copies.
This set entitled Voyage en Orient consists of 222 photographs on albumen paper, including a few panoramic views.The author has assembled six albums in five volumes : the Calvary stations were joined with the Palestine album.
This work is original. It is probably the first photo essay on the Christian military remains in Syria, and the first systematic photo tour of the Via Dolorosa. Moreover, in the great French tradition of photographic archaeological record, his images are perfectly centered on the monument, in a beautiful light.
The copy for sale on December 20 by Vincent Wapler in Paris is exceptional. Having remained up to now in the family of the artist, it is complete and in good condition. It is estimated € 150K.
This estimate is reasonable. On 20 June 2006, Aguttes had sold for € 265K before fees an incomplete set where the album on military forts which had been the primary goal of this beautiful trip was missing.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, € 160K before fees, is in line with the estimate.
1862 The Travel of Charnay to the Ruines Américaines
2013 SOLD 225 K€ including premium
Désiré Charnay chose to be an explorer. After an early stay in New Orleans, he returned to Paris to learn photography. He was the first photographer to visit the sites of Yucatan described by Stephens and Catherwood, which were still invaded by uncleared vegetation.
This first Mexican trip lasts three years, from 1857. It's a feat. The collodion negatives on glass, only technique able at that time to withstand the tropical moisture, require an extremely heavy equipment. In addition, after two years, an unfortunate encounter with local militaries destroyed all of his work.
In the following of the Paris school of archaeology, Charnay's interest for monuments must be supported by the largest photographic formats. He returned to Paris with a limited quantity of negatives that however offer a fair encyclopedic vision of Yucatan sites.
On November 17 in Paris, Ader Nordmann sells an album of 45 positive prints on albumen paper, between 27 x 34 and 44 x 34 cm, glued on cardboard according to the custom of the time. This set is estimated over € 200K.
The album simply titled 'Ruines Américaines' was assembled in 1862, most likely during the preparation phase of the first edition under the most attracting title 'Cités et Ruines Américaines' with the prestigious patronage of Viollet-le-Duc. This album includes the most famous picture of the trip, the facade of the palace of Chichen Itza.
This first Mexican trip lasts three years, from 1857. It's a feat. The collodion negatives on glass, only technique able at that time to withstand the tropical moisture, require an extremely heavy equipment. In addition, after two years, an unfortunate encounter with local militaries destroyed all of his work.
In the following of the Paris school of archaeology, Charnay's interest for monuments must be supported by the largest photographic formats. He returned to Paris with a limited quantity of negatives that however offer a fair encyclopedic vision of Yucatan sites.
On November 17 in Paris, Ader Nordmann sells an album of 45 positive prints on albumen paper, between 27 x 34 and 44 x 34 cm, glued on cardboard according to the custom of the time. This set is estimated over € 200K.
The album simply titled 'Ruines Américaines' was assembled in 1862, most likely during the preparation phase of the first edition under the most attracting title 'Cités et Ruines Américaines' with the prestigious patronage of Viollet-le-Duc. This album includes the most famous picture of the trip, the facade of the palace of Chichen Itza.
1869-1874 Scientific Survey of the Rocky Mountains
2012 SOLD 266 K$ including premium
In the nineteenth century, the Earth still concealed mysteries. Yellowstone had been visited in 1806 by a member of the expedition of Lewis and Clark. During half a century, all who followed were considered crazy. The bubbling water, the geysers, the petrified trees could not reasonably exist on the ground of our planet.
Americans are pragmatic people. Everything must be explored. In 1859, the army provides some support. FV Hayden will be the great scientific discoverer of the Rocky Mountains.
WH Jackson is pushed westward by a similar passion. This young photographer had traveled the Oregon Trail, then got orders from railway companies to publish photos of the served areas. He will logically be the photographer of Hayden surveys.
Fools who described the boiling waters had told the truth. As early as 1872, thanks to Hayden reports accompanied by Jackson's photos and by Thomas Moran's painting, the incredible region of northwest Wyoming became the first national park in America and in the world.
On December 6 in New York, Christie's sells a copy of the very rare album of photographs by Jackson entitled "Photographs of U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey (Hayden Survey), Volume I-V, 1869-1874." Assembled in five volumes, it includes 260 albumen prints covering Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Yellowstone Park and a few photos of Native Americans.
This lot is estimated $ 300K. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot was sold $ 266K including premium.
Reopening the catalog, I see that the set is co-authored by John K. Hillers. This information which was not provided in the press release enables to also highlight this other photographer of the West whose reputation was similar to that of William Henry Jackson.
Americans are pragmatic people. Everything must be explored. In 1859, the army provides some support. FV Hayden will be the great scientific discoverer of the Rocky Mountains.
WH Jackson is pushed westward by a similar passion. This young photographer had traveled the Oregon Trail, then got orders from railway companies to publish photos of the served areas. He will logically be the photographer of Hayden surveys.
Fools who described the boiling waters had told the truth. As early as 1872, thanks to Hayden reports accompanied by Jackson's photos and by Thomas Moran's painting, the incredible region of northwest Wyoming became the first national park in America and in the world.
On December 6 in New York, Christie's sells a copy of the very rare album of photographs by Jackson entitled "Photographs of U.S. Geological and Geographical Survey (Hayden Survey), Volume I-V, 1869-1874." Assembled in five volumes, it includes 260 albumen prints covering Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah and Yellowstone Park and a few photos of Native Americans.
This lot is estimated $ 300K. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot was sold $ 266K including premium.
Reopening the catalog, I see that the set is co-authored by John K. Hillers. This information which was not provided in the press release enables to also highlight this other photographer of the West whose reputation was similar to that of William Henry Jackson.
