Tripe, Linnaeus.

Oblong folio (336 x 445mm.), 2 leaves of letterpress: introduction (dated June 1859) and index of photographs, 75 albumen prints (from 170 x 60mm. to 260 x 342mm., or the reverse) mounted on 51 leaves, recto only, Tripe's "Photographer to Government" embossed blind stamp on each mount, references and pagination on each mount in ink in an unknown hand, original printed boards, preserved in a modern half vellum clamshell box, a little light spotting and marginal dust-soiling, some corners and edges of mounts repaired or strengthened (not affecting images), neatly rebacked in brown cloth, corners and edges of binding repaired

Dewan, J. The Photographs of Linnaeus Tripe. A Catalogue Raisonné. (Toronto: Art Gallery of Ontario, 2003): CR Series 8

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A rare complete album and one of only c.70 produced. This series of photographs records sculptures from the ruined Buddhist stupa at Amaravati, in Andhra Pradesh, southeastern India, which had been excavated in 1845 by Walter Elliot, an employee of the Madras Civil Service. They were transported to Madras from where, a year after Tripe photographed them, they were shipped to London. The extreme difficulties in producing the album are described in the introduction: "These Photographs were taken by Captain Tripe in the months of May and June [1858], after a wearying tour through Trichinpoly, Madura and Tanjore Districts, during the preceding four months and a half. Many of the subjects being heavy masses, and therefore not to be easily transported into the open air, were taken as they were lying, in the rooms of the Museum. To enable him to attempt them at all he was obliged to use a dry collodion process, with which he had only recently made acquaintance. He would point to both these circumstances to account for the unsatisfactory pictures he has made of some of these Sculptures. In printing from the above mentioned negatives, their density, though apparently in their favor, increased the liability to yellowness in the lights, so much complained of in toning a print on albumenised paper with gold... Bangalore, June, 1859."