Eugène Atget

albumen print, numbered in the negative, titled and numbered '1216' in pencil and with the photographer's 'Rue Campagne-Première, 17 bis' studio stamp, annotated '17 bis' in pencil, on the reverse, framed, 1923 (The World of Atget, pl. 147)

Collection of Berenice Abbott / Julien Levy, 1968

The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2002

Grading this albumen print on a scale of 1 to 10--a 10 being an albumen print with deep brown dark tones and highlights that retain all of their original detail--this print rates a 6 or 7. There is great detail throughout, but the highlights are slightly warm and the darks are somewhat light. There is faint warm-toned along the edges and a 2-inch area of discoloration in the lower right quadrant. This photograph is in generally very good condition. As is common with Atget's photographs, the image is trimmed unevenly and a portion of the negative is visible at the upper, lower, and left edges. There is a rust-colored deposit of indeterminate nature along the left edge. On the reverse, the corners are slightly age-appropriately darkened. 'Etang - Ville d'Avray' and '1216' are written by the photographer in pencil. 'Dupl. MATTED' and 'MOMA DUPE [illegible] 2002' are written in an unidentified hand in pencil. In 'The Work of Atget. Volume III: The Ancien Regime,' Maria Morris Hambourg has chronologically dated, in the form of an extensive chart, Atget's photographs by their series and negative numbers. The chart is the most comprehensive to date, and our dating of this print is based upon the author's assessment of the photographer's series and negative numbers. The negative number on this print '1216' indicates that this image was taken circa 1923 (cf. 'The Work of Atget. Volume III: The Ancien Regime,' pp. 181-85).
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