Bonfils, Felix (1831-1885), Dumas, Tancrède (1830-1905); Berggren, Guillaume (1835-1920). Album with 39 Original Albumen Studio Photos, Including 26 Images of Baalbek and Beirut in Lebanon; the Rest of the Photos Shows Damascus, Jerusalem, and Istanbul. Ca. 1880s-1890s.

Small Folio album (ca. 32x25 cm). 39 card stock leaves. With 39 original albumen photographs including 37 larger photos from ca. 22x28 cm (8 ¾ x 11 cm) to ca. 16,5x22 cm (6 ½ x 8 ½ in); the two smaller photos are ca. 11x21 cm (4 ¼ x 8 ¼ in) and ca. 12,5x19,5 cm (4 ¾ x 7 ½ in). All but seven photos signed and captioned in negative; three photos with period manuscript ink captions in the right lower corners. Two photos of a monolith block in Baalbek are the same. Period maroon full cloth album with gilt and blind stamped ornaments on the spine. Paper label of “Papeterie de la Rue de la Barre, P. Dellevaux á Lyon” on the front pastedown endpaper. Mounts waved, a few images mildly faded, front board slightly detaching at the inner hinge, several images with tears or minor losses at the corners, but overall a very good album of interesting photos.

An attractive collection of large albumen photos, mostly of Lebanon, with a dozen views of Damascus, Jerusalem and Istanbul. The majority of photos (twenty-seven) belong to the “Maison Bonfils” studio, four photos are signed by the Beirut studio of Tancrède Dumas, and one view of Istanbul bears the signature of the local studio of Guillaume Berggren. Twenty-three photos depict the sites of the Baalbek temple complex – the Acropolis, the Temple of Jupiter, courtyard chambers, and the Stone of the Pregnant Woman monolith (the latter one presents in two copies). Three photos show Beirut’s famous pine forest and Lebanese cedars. There are also five views of Damascus (the Great Mosque, the tomb of John the Baptist located inside the Great Mosque, general view of the city, the Barrada River), three views of Jerusalem (Damascus Gate, the Dome of the Rock, Akeldama field), and three views of Istanbul (general view of the Galata Tower, Fountain of Ahmed III, the fountain on the Bosphorus near the Sweet Waters of Asia). Overall a nice collection of large albumen studio photos of Baalbec, Beirut and other Middle-Eastern locations.

A list of photos: 1) Balbek. Pierre du Midi. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 2) 2015. Damas. Chameliers. [Signed] “Dumas Pht.”; 3) 825. Détails intérieurs du temple de Jupiter. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 4) 281. Balbek. Temple de Jupiter, Syrie. [Signed] “Bonfils 170”; 5) 318. Champ de Haceldama. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 6) 407. Jérusalem. Porte de Damas (Palestine). [Signed] “Bonfils”; 7) 462. Balbek. Vue générale des chambres carrées. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 8) 439. Balbek. Vue générale de l’Acropole. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 9) 451. Balbek. Plafond du pérystile du temple de Jupiter. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 10) Balbek. Porte du temple de Jupiter, Syrie. [Signed] “Bonfils 11”; 11) Tombe Ste. Giovani a Damas. [Signed] “Dumas Photo”; 12) 302. Balbek. Chambres carrées. [Signed] “Bonfils 24”; 13) Baalbek, grand temple. [Signed] “Dumas e fils phie. á Beyrouth, Syrie”; 14) 821. Balbek. Détail de la porte du temple de Jupiter. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 15) Ruines de Baalbek (Syrie), fondations cyclopéennes. [Unsigned, handwritten caption]; 16) Baalbek (Syrie), vue générale. [Unsigned, handwritten caption]; 17) 43. Beyrouth – Bois des pins. [Signed] “1889 Dumas Pht.”; 18) [A general view of a Middle-Eastern city, unsigned and uncaptioned]; 19) [A view of the Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem, unsigned and uncaptioned]; 20) 439. Vue générale de l’Acropole de Balbek. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 21) 442. Balbek. Temple de Jupiter, côté ouest, Syrie. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 22) …des Eaux douces d’Asie (unsigned); 23) Fontaine d’Achmed. No. 12. [Signed] “G. Berggren”; 24) 19) [A general view of an acropolis, unsigned and uncaptioned]; 25) [A general view of Istanbul with the Golden Horn and the Galata Tower, unsigned]; 26) 295. Balbek. Intérieur du temple de Jupiter, Syrie. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 27) 282. Temple de Jupiter pris du nord-est, Syrie. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 28) 292. Balbek. Plafond du pérystile du temple de Jupiter. [Unsigned, but Bonfils]; 29) 455. Balbek. Pierre sculptée de la voile du pérystile du temple. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 30) 1258. Promenade des Pins à Beyrouth. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 31) 784. Damas Grande mosquée et vue générale de Damas. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 32) Balbek. Pierre du Midi. [Signed] “Bonfils” (same as photo No. 1); 33) 279. Vue générale de Balbek. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 34) 295. Intérieur du temple de Jupiter, Balbek. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 35) Cedar du Leban. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 36) 281. Temple de Jupiter, Baalbek. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 37) 405. Damas. Entrée de Damas et le Barrada. [Signed] “Bonfils;” 38) Damas. Tombeau de Saint Jean dans la grande mosquée. [Signed] “Bonfils”; 39) 299. Balbek. Colonne du temple du Soleil. [Signed] “Bonfils.”

Maison Bonfils was started by Paul-Felix Bonfils (1831-1885) in Beirut in 1867 and was “to become one of the most successful photographic businesses in the world. They photographed most of the important sights in the Middle East and their views were widely distributed” (Jacobsen p. 216). Bonfils’ “stock had variety enough to please all and ranged from classical landscapes and biblical scenes to ethnographic portraits” (Perez, p. 141). An Italian-born photographer, Tancrède Dumas worked from his studio in Beirut in the 1860s-1890s, specializing in portraits and topographical views. In 1875 he became the official photographer of the mission of the American Palestine Exploration Society. Guillaume (Pehr Vilhelm) Berggern, a Swedish-born photographer, founded his studio in Istanbul in 1866 and worked well into the 1910s, specializing in topographical views, urban scenes, Oriental portraits and postcards.