PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION OF EARLY VIEWS OF CAIRO, EGYPT, THE PYRAMIDS, THE NILE, ALEXANDRIA, VARIOUS MOSQUES AND TOMBS AND OF BEDOUIN ARABS

With 56 full page albumen photographs, mounted on board and with descriptions lettered by hand on the boards beneath the images. 210 x 270 mm., the mounted photographic images approximately 195 x, 250 mm., the photographs are housed in a folding protective binder of brown calf, the covers with triple gilt fillet rules, the spine and upper cover with dark brown lettering labels gilt, the inner portions of the foldover binding are decorated with patterned papers of red, green and cream. 56 photographs on 28 boards, the photographs in sepia. A very well preserved set with normal age and fading.

Edizione: a fine collection of photographs of egypt including street scenes, landscapes, architecture, photographs of mosques and tombs, of the pyramids and ancient monuments and of people gathered in groups in cairo and of bedouin arabs in gatherings and alone. maison bonfils was a french family-run company producing and selling photography and photographic products from beirut (then in ottoman syria, now in lebanon) from 1867 until 1918, from 1878 on renamed "f. bonfils et cie". the bonfils ran the first and, in their time, most successful photographic studio in the city. maison bonfils produced studio portraits, staged biblical scenes, landscapes, and panoramic photographs. <br> f?lix bonfils, a french photographer, married marie-lydie cabanis in 1857. the couple, together with their son adrien, moved to beirut in 1867 where they opened a photographic studio called "maison bonfils", on what later became rue georges-picot. maison bonfils produced thousands of photographs of the middle east. bonfils worked with both his wife and his son. they photographed landscapes, portraits, scenes with subjects dressed in middle eastern regalia, and also stories from the bible.<br> f?lix bonfils took photographs in ottoman syria (in today's lebanon, syria, israel & palestine), the khedivate of egypt, greece and constantinople, producing the vast majority of his work, while his wife and son were also involved in photography produced by the studio. as few are signed, it is difficult to identify who is responsible for individual photographs. lydie is thought to have taken some of the studio portraits, especially those of middle eastern women, who were more inclined to pose for a female photographer. in 1876, f?lix returned to al?s to have compiled collections of their photographs published.<br> in 1878, when the name of the studio was changed to "f. bonfils et cie", adrien was back in beirut after completing his studies in france and took more responsibility for photography, including landscape. f?lix again travelled to al?s to establish a collotype printing factory in 1880, and died there in 1885.