Album du Soudan. Costumes, Vues, Types, Cérémonies, etc. Prix: 12 Francs.
Paris: Henri Vivien, Libraire-Éditeur 51, Rue Blanche 51, [around 1897]. First edition. Contains 2 letterpress plates (title page and half title) and 21 tinted and colored lithographs of which one is double-page (folded). In publisher’s printed hard paper portfolio. [2 (letterpressed plates)] [21 (lithographed plates)]. [Complete.]. Portfolio somewhat dusted, stained bit worn. Most of the plates are in fine condition, however some chipped, dented, or has small closed tears to the margins. Few plates stained, dusted at edges, some with foxing. Overall in very good condition.
Extremely scarce, seemingly unrecorded album of 21 lithographed plates, made after some of the earliest photographic images made in Africa and its peoples.
Album du Soudan comprises 21 lithographs after photographs and drawings by Pierre Trémaux and depicts a rich tapestry of views, costumes, ceremonies, zoology, and botany. The images first appeared in Trémaux’s Voyages au Soudan Oriental et dans l'Afrique septentrionale, a larger work, with a collection of 56 illustrations, partly salt prints, published between 1852 and 1858.
The present selection of the images was published by Henri Vivien, likely between 1890 and 1900. Based on similarities in technique, paper quality, and other factors, the collection was most likely compiled using remnants of plates from the original publication. The images, unnumbered and exquisitely rendered, besides capturing the essence of the region, from the banks of the Nile in Egypt to the forests of the Blue Nile in Soudan, show different customs and ceremonies of the local people.
Architect Pierre Trémaux (1818–1895) was deeply intrigued by the discoveries made in Egypt during Napoleon Bonaparte's military campaign. Venturing into forbidden territories, he brought back invaluable documents, attempting to illustrate his publications with photography alongside lithography. Trémaux may not be widely recognized, but his contribution to the history of illustrated books is significant. He stands as one of the pioneers in publishing one of the earliest photographically illustrated travelogues, and he was among the first to record indigenous people by photography.
Title of the plates: Les bords du Nil en Egypte; Vues et détails du Grand désert de Korosko; Danse funèbre des Barabras; Cérémonie funèbre des Barabras; Forêt vierge des bords du Fleuve bleu; Femmes de Lony; Forêt vierge d'Afrique; Onagres du désert de Naga; Parallèle des palmiers; Vue du Mont Fa-Zoglo; Détails des euphorbes; Atelier de lavage des sables aurifères; Panorama de Fa-Ronia; Vue intérieure d'une tannerie; Préliminaire cérémonieux d'une entrevue; Ecureuil fossoyeur et fruit du baobab; Danse religieuse des Nègres; Fête des Nègres; Esclaves Schelouk et Dinka; Fille du Dar-Four; Vue de Suez.
Scarce. No copies recorded by RBH, neither WorldCat.
19th photography, Jacobson, K. Odalisques & Arabesques (2007), p.273
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Price: €10,000.00