Eugène Atget

albumen print, numbered '1215' in the negative, titled and numbered '1215' 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. 180)

Collection of Berenice Abbott / Julien Levy, 1968

The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2002

Grading this albumen or arrowroot 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 strong 7 or 8. While there does not appear to be any degradation of detail, the highlights are slightly warm-toned and the dark areas are somewhat light. This photograph is in generally excellent condition. As is common with Atget's photographs, the print is trimmed unevenly. There is minor chipping and very faint discoloration along the edges. There is a small black deposit of ink along the upper edge. The aforementioned are insignificant and do not detract from the overall fine appearance of this print. The reverse is slightly soiled with a few black ink deposits. '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 '1215' indicates that this image was taken in 1923 (cf. 'The Work of Atget. Volume III: The Ancien Regime,' pp. 181-85).
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