Lot 30
  • 30

John Beasley Greene

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 GBP
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Description

  • John Beasley Greene
  • Album of Egypt and Algeria, 1852 - 1856
  • photograph
Album, contemporary green cloth with monogram gilt 'A.L.' on the cover, spine modern cloth, with 44 photographic prints individually pasted to blue albumen card. 43 prints by John Beasley Greene after paper negatives, 39 salt prints and 5 albumenised salt prints. 15 prints with the signature and reference number in the negative. Also included are drawings, watercolours and further handwritten documents in Arabic.

 

Provenance

Private French Collection

Literature

Anne de Mondenard/ Marc Pagneux, Modernisme ou Modernité, exh. cat. Musée du Petit Palais, Paris, Arles, Actes Sud, 2012, with ill. p. 212, p. 300, p. 308; 
Sylvie Aubenas, Gustave Le Gray, exh. cat. Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Paris, 2002, ill. pl. 232 and 233;
Pierre Apraxine, Gilman Paper Company Collection, The Metropolitan Museum, New York, 1993, ill. pl. 67, p. 92; 
André Jammes/ Eugenia Parry Janis, The Art of French Calotype, Princetown University Press, Princetown, N. J., 1983, ill. pl. XLIII;
Blanquart-Evrard, Le Nil, Monuments et Paysages, Lille, 1854.

Condition

Condition of the individual JBG prints: 1 - 'El Kantara Bridge, Constantine, Algeria', 1855 – 1856 23.5 x 30 cm (9 ¼ x 11 ¾ in.) Slightly albumenised salt print. good condition. Tipped to original blue card at the upper edges. Fading at the lower edge, print uniformly slightly yellow. With a few light folds in the upper right corner (approx. 1 cm), in the lower right corner (approx. 2 mm) and in the upper left corner (approx. 1.5 cm). With one tiny stain in the upper right quadrant near the edge. 2 - 'Forest of Fontainebleau, France', 1852 23.3 x 30.3 cm (9 1/8 x 11 7/8 in.) Slightly albumenised salt print on strong paper, uniformly slightly yellow but good contrasts. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With a very light fold (approx. 7 cm) in the lower right corner. 3 - Mousky district, Cairo, Egypt, 1854 – 1855 24.5 x 31.5 cm (9 5/8 x 11 3/8 in.) Albumen print, thin paper, untrimmed. Very rich dark tones. Overall in good condition. Mounted to original blue card at the two upper corners. With a few very light folds in the lower right and upper left corners and a few light handling marks in the lower part of the print. With one small stain/ oxidation in the lower left quadrant near the lower edge. 4 - Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856 23 x 30 cm (9 x 11 ¾ in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, strong paper, the print uniformly slightly yellow. Very light discoloration at upper right. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With two small light folds in the lower corners and in the upper right corner. 5 - 'Temple of Edfu, Egypt', 1854 23.1 x 30 cm (9 x 11 ¾ in.) Salt print, signed in the negative, very good general condition. Dark brown tones, minimal foxing, hardly visible. Tipped to original blue card at the upper corners. With one light superficial foxing hardly visible in the upper left corner . 6 - 'Second cataract, above Ghebel Abousir', 1854 23.4 x 29.2 cm (9 1/8 x 11 ½ in.) Salt print, signed in the negative, overall good condition, with edge fading and surface dirt. Mounted to original blue card at the upper corners. A few light handling marks in the upper part of the print. 7 - 'View of Karnak, from the west, Egypt', 1854 22.4 x 29.2 cm (8 ¾ x 11 ½ in.) Salt print, signed in the negative, excellent general condition. Mounted to original blue card at the upper corners. With one tiny humidity stain in the centre of the print. 8 - 'Gezireh village, Thebes, Egypte', 1854 23.4 x 30 cm (9 1/8 x 11 ¾ in.) Salt print, signed in the negative, in excellent general condition. Mounted to original blue card at the upper corners. With one spot of light foxing in the upper part of the print. 9 – Egypt 23 x 29.4 cm (9 x 11 ½ in.) Salt print, signed in the negative, strong fading at the lower edge, print yellowed. Mounted to original blue card at the upper corners. With one spot of light foxing in the upper portion. 10 - 'Viaduct above the aqueduct of Cherchell, Algeria', 1855 – 1856 23.9 x 30.1 cm (9 3/8 x 11 ¾ in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, overall in good condition. Mounted to original blue card at the upper corners. With a light vertical fold in the centre and two diagonal folds in the lower right portion. 11 - 'Waterfall, Constantine, Algeria', 1855 – 1856 23.2 x 30 cm (9 1/8 x 11 ¾ in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, overall in very good condition. Light fading mainly at the lower edge. Tipped to original blue card at the upper corners. With one light fold (approx. 5 cm) in the lower right corner. 12 – Egypt, 25.5 x 32.4 cm (10 x 12 ¾ in.) Albumen print on thin paper, untrimmed, tipped to original blue card at the upper corners. Edge fading. With some light folds in the lower right corner, with a tiny tear (approx. 1 mm) in the right edge at the centre and with some light handling marks in the lower portion. The question has been raised if this print is a copy print.. 13 - Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856 23.5 x 30.2 cm (9 ¼ x 11 ¾ in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, in very good general condition. Mounted to original blue card at the upper corners. With a few spots of light foxing in the upper part of the print, with a circular white stain near the lower left edge. 14 - Constantine environs, Algeria, 1855 – 1856 23.3 x 30 cm (9 1/8 x 11 ¾ in.) Slightly albumenised salt print in overall good condition, tipped to original blue card at the upper corners. With light folds in both lower corners, with one tear (approx. 1 cm) at the lower edge at right, with a tiny circular white stain near the lower left edge. 15 - Constantine environs, Algeria, 1855 – 1856 25.9 x 32 cm (10 1/8 x 12 ½ in.) Very lightly albumenised salt print, strong paper, in overall very good condition. Untrimmed. Tipped to original blue card at the upper corners. Light edge fading at top right? Small loss of the paper at the lower right corner; a small spot of discoloration in the lower left quadrant. 16 - Constantine environs, Algeria, 1855 – 1856 23.4 x 30.2 cm (9 ¼ x 11 7/8 in.) Slightly albumenised salt print in overall very good condition. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With one light fold (approx. 20 cm), with one tiny fold (approx. 1 cm) in the upper left corner. With light edge fading. 17 - Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856 24.7 x 30.7 cm (9 ¾ x 12 in.) Slightly albumenised salt print in overall very good condition. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With a few light folds in the lower right corner and one vertical fold in the centre. 18 – Egypt 23.2 x 29.8 cm (9 1/8 x 11 ½ in.) Salt print, signed in the negative, in good general condition. Tipped to original blue card at the upper corners. With a few humidity stains in the centre of the print, some surface dirt and light edge fading. 19 - Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856 26 x 32.5 cm (10 ¼ x 12 ¾ in.) Slightly albumenised salt print in overall very good condition. Untrimmed. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With one light fold (approx. 3 cm ) in the lower right corner and one tiny tear (approx. 2 mm) in the lower edge at left. With a tiny white spot in the lower right quadrant. 20 - 'El Kantara Bridge, Constantine, Algeria', 1855 – 1856 23.5 x 30.3 cm (9 ¼ x 11 7/8 in.) Slightly albumenised salt print in overall very good condition. Rich dark brown tones. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With one very light fold it the lower right quadrant. 21 - 'Island of Philae, Egypt', 1853 – 1854 22.8 x 29.6 cm (9 x 11 5/8 in.) Salt print, signed in the negative, in excellent general condition. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. 22 - 'Date palms, Nubia', 1853 – 1854 22.7 x 29.6 cm (8 7/8 x 11 5/8 in.) Salt print, signed in the negative, in very good overall condition. Tipped to original blue card at the four corners. With one very light blue trace (approx. 1 cm) in the upper left corner and light traces of discoloration at the centre. 23 - Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856 23.7 x 30.2 cm (9 ¼ x 11 7/8 in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, in overall very good condition. Tipped to original blue card at the upper corners. With light folds in the lower right corner and light edge fading. 24 - 'Waterfall, Constantine, Algeria', 1855 – 1856 24.6 x 31.1 cm (9 ¾ x 12 1/8 in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, in overall very good condition. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With a light fold hardly visible in the lower right corner and a small discoloured spot near the upper right corner. Very light edge fading. 25 - 'El Kantara Bridge, Constantine, Algeria', 1855 – 1856 23.3 x 30.5 cm (9 1/8 x 12 in.) This print is in very good general condition. Mounted to original blue card at the two upper corners. With a few light folds hardly visible in the lower left corner. 26 - Algeria, 1855 – 1856 23.6 x 29.9 cm (9 ¼ x 11 ¾ in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, slightly yellowed, in overall good condition. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With a few light folds in the lower right corner and light edge fading. 27 - Algeria, 1855 – 1856 23.1 x 30.6 cm (9 1/8 x 12 in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, in overall very good condition. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With light folds in the lower right corner and with small, light spots of foxing in the upper portion. 28 - Algeria, 1855 – 1856 25.7 x 32.3 cm (10 1/8 x 12 5/8 in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, in overall very good condition. Untrimmed. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With two marks of foxing in the upper left quadrant and one light spot od grey/blue discoloration near the top left edge. Very light edge fading. Very beautiful print. 29 - El Kantara Bridge, Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856 23.5 x 30.4 cm (9 ¼ x 11 7/8 in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, in overall very good condition. Very dark tones. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With a few light folds in the lower right corner and a few light superficial handling marks in the upper portion area of the print. With a tiny humidity stain at the upper left edge. 30 - Landscape, Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856 23.6 x 30.5 cm (9 ¼ x 12 in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, in overall very good condition. Strong contrasts. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. Very light edge fading. 31 - 'Palace of Rameses III at Medinet Habu, second pylon', 1854 – 1855 24.8 x 30.4 cm (9 ¾ x 12 in.) Albumenised salt print. Overall faded. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. The black margin with light silvering. 32 - 'Photographer's camp on the banks of the Nile, Egypt', 1854 23.7 x 28.1 cm (9 ¼ x 11 in.) Salt print, signed in the negative. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With several spts of strong discoloration and edge fading, otherwise rich dark tones. 33 - 'Ghebel Abousir environs, Egypt', 1854 23.6 x 30.3 cm (9 ¼ x 11 7/8 in.) Salt print, signed in the negative, in overall very good condition. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. The upper left corner with a tiny loss (approx. 2 mm); light edge fading. 34 - 'Boat in Harbor, Cherchell, Algeria', 1856 25.4 x 29.7 cm (10 x 11 5/8 in.) Slightly albumenised salt print in very good to excellent condition. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. With one tiny tear (approx. 2 mm) at the lower edge at left. With one small discoloured stain in the upper right quadrant. Partially very slightly yellowed. A very beautiful print and astonishing image. 35 - Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856 23.7 x 30.7 cm (9 ¼ x 12 in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, in good general condition, uniformly slightly yellowed. Tipped to original blue card at the upper corners. With a few light folds in the lower corners and one tiny discoloured spot near the centre of the right edge. 36 - 'Ramesseum, Thebes, Egypt', 1854 23.2 x 28.8 cm (9 1/8 x 11 1/8 in.) Salt print, signed in the negative, in very good to excellent condition. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. Very light edge fading. 37 - 'Relief of Ramses III, Egypt', 1854 25.4 x 33 cm (10 x 13 in.) Albumen print in thin paper, untrimmed, in good general condition. Uniformly slightly yellowed. Tipped to original blue card at the two upper corners. The upper left corner missing, with a tiny tear (approx. 2 mm), and one other near the lower left corner in the dark margin, not affecting the actual image. With a few light folds in the lower corners. The dark margins with light silvering. 38 - 'Date palms, Nubia', 1854 22.7 x 30.3 cm (8 7/8 x 11 7/8 in.) Salt print, signed in the negative, in very good to excellent general condition. Tipped by the two upper corners. With two tiny spots of foxing in the upper left quadrant. Very light edhe fading. A very beautiful print. 39 - Palace of Rameses III at Medinet Habu, entrance to the first court, 1854 22.9 x 29.1 cm (9 x 11 3/8 in.) Presumably waxed paper print, signed in the negative. Partially slightly discoloured and with surface dirt, with a light fold in the upper right corner. Tipped to original blue card at the upper corners. 40 - 'Gournah, Thebes', 1854 23 x 28.9 cm (9 x 11 3/8 in.) Salt print, signed in the negative. In very good general condition. Tipped to original blue card at the upper corners. Very light edge fading. A fold in the upper right corner. 41 - 'First pylon of the Great Temple, Philae', 1853-1854 23.3 x 29.9 cm (9 1/8 x 11 ¾ in.) Salt print, signed in the negative. In good general condition. Tipped to original blue card at the upper corners. Light edge fading, a small dark spot in the upper right quadrant. 42 - 'Trees near Chailly, France', 1852 23.3 x 30 cm (9 1/8 x 11 ¾ in.) Slightly albumenised salt print, uniformly yellowed. Tipped to original blue card at the upper corners. With light folds in the lower corners and light foxing in the upper portion near the edges. 43 - 'The Propylon of the Temple of Khons, Karnak, Egypt, 1855 34.1 x 23.6 cm (13 3/8 x 9 ¼ in.) Albumen print on thin paper, untrimmed. Signed and dated in the negative (hardly visible). Uniformly yellowed, with folds in the corners, a loss of the paper at the upper right corner, the lower right corner is torn, with a tear of approx. 6 cm in the upper portion et the centre. The album/binding with traces of age and use, broken spine, a few pages loose.
"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."

Catalogue Note

John Beasley Greene’s photographs captivate us by their sheer modernity in the form of audacious framings reinforced by a very ambitious treatment of light. His work has been called ‘proto-modernist’ and looking back it is evident today that his views of Egypt and Algeria are some of the most radical in early photography. In some cases his images are densely filled with architecture but often without any reference of scale, similarly the sense of scale is lost in this fabulously dense view of a waterfall in Algeria. Quite contrary to these, Greene constructs other photographs around the single line of the horizon with only the quintessence of an image at centre in an otherwise void image space, such as the often reproduced, spectacularly minimalist view of the Nile with an island at centre. The young Beasley Greene thus creates an incredibly vast photographic oeuvre in the span of just four years. A student of the great Gustave Le Gray, the son of a Boston banker is one of the rare American artists to have adopted the paper negative process with great mastery; his work includes views of Paris and the Fontainebleau forest – two forest scenes are included in this album – but the majority of his output depicts the land and documents the monuments and their inscriptions in Egypt, Algeria and Nubia realised during his expeditions as an archaeologist in 1853, 1854-1855 and 1855-1856.
Acquired in Paris as indicated by the bookseller Alexandre Reichmann’s label on the inside front cover, the album was assembled by its first owner who participated in Auguste Mariette’s excavations around the Sphinx and then further up the Nile to the Second Cataract in 1853 during which he may have become acquainted with John Beasley Greene.
Important holdings of John Beasley Greene’s photographs are today kept in the Institut de France, the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Musée d’Orsay as well as in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Getty Museum and other American institutions.


List of titles:
1 - ‘El Kantara Bridge, Constantine, Algeria’, 1855 – 1856
2 - ‘Forest of Fontainebleau, France’, 1852
3 - Mousky district, Cairo, Egypt, 1854 – 1855
4 - Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856
5 - ‘Temple of Edfu, Egypt’, 1854
6 - ‘Second cataract, above Ghebel Abousir’, 1854
7 - ‘View of Karnak, from the west, Egypt’, 1854
8 - ‘Gezireh village, Thebes, Egypte’, 1854
9 - Egypt
10 - ‘Viaduct above the aqueduct of Cherchell, Algeria’, 1855 – 1856
11 - ‘Waterfall, Constantine, Algeria’, 1855 – 1856
12 - Egypt
13 - Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856
14 - Constantine environs, Algeria, 1855 - 1856
15 - Constantine environs, Algeria, 1855 – 1856
16 - Constantine environs, Algeria, 1855 – 1856
17 - Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856
18 - Egypt
19 - Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856
20 - ‘El Kantara Bridge, Constantine, Algeria’, 1855 – 1856
21 - ‘Island of Philae, Egypt’, 1853 – 1854
22 - ‘Date palms, Nubia’, 1853 – 1854
23 - Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856
24 - ‘Waterfall, Constantine, Algeria’, 1855 – 1856
25 - ‘El Kantara Bridge, Constantine, Algeria’, 1855 – 1856
26 - Algeria, 1855 – 1856
27 - Algeria, 1855 – 1856
28 - Algeria, 1855 – 1856
29 - El Kantara Bridge, Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856
30 - Landscape, Constantine, Algeria, 1855 – 1856
31 - ‘Palace of Rameses III at Medinet Habu, second pylon’, 1854 – 1855
32 - ‘Photographer's camp on the banks of the Nile, Egypt’, 1854
33 - ‘Ghebel Abousir environs, Egypt’, 1854
34 - ‘Boat in Harbor, Cherchell, Algeria’, 1856
35 - Constantine, Algeria, 1855 - 1856
36 - ‘Ramesseum, Thebes, Egypt’, 1854
37 - ‘Relief of Ramses II, Egypt’, 1854
38 - ‘Date palms, Nubia’, 1854
39 - Palace of Rameses III at Medinet Habu, entrance to the first court, 1854
40 - ‘Gournah, Thebes’, 1854
41 - ‘First pylon of the Great Temple, Philae’, 1853-1854
42 - ‘Trees near Chailly, France’, 1852
43 - ‘The Propylon of the Temple of Khons, Karnak, Egypt, 1855