BONFILS FELIX (1831 1885) Souvenirs de Syria Vols I II

Sale 2135 - Lot 34

Unsold

Estimate: $ 9,000 - $ 12,000

BONFILS, FELIX (1831-1885)
Souvenirs de Syria. Vols. I & II. Together, 2 volumes with a total of 55 photographic images of Syria and Lebanon. The first with a 3-part panorama of a walled city (Jerusalemn?) and 27 photographs of the ancient holy site of Baalbek as well as Carpharhaum, and Samaria, comprising 23 by Bonfils and 4 uncredited images (most likely also by him). The second album with 28 photographs, with views of the Acropolis and Temple of Jupiter at Baalbek, scenes of Beirut and Cedars of Lebanon, comprising 20 by Bonfils and one by Dumas; the remaining prints are uncredited. Albumen prints, 8 1/2x11 1/4 inches (21.5x28.5 cm.), most with a credit and caption in the negative. Oblong folio, gilt-lettered cloth, edgewear; all edges gilt. Circa 1870

Set Alert for Similar Items

Additional Details

A bookbinder from St-Hippolyte-du-Fort, Bonfils traveled to Lebanon between 1861-1864 and became infatuated with the beauty of the country. He subsequently apprenticed to Niepce de St Victor, nephew of Nicephore Niepce, and opened a photography studio in Ales in southern France during 1865.

In 1867 Bonfils moved to Beirut with his wife and son. During the next four years he produced an extraordinary collection of views using the wet collodion on glass process to capture monuments, landscapes and portraits. Today, the Maison Bonfils is well-known for commercial portraits and has expanded to branches in Jerusalem, Baalbek, Alexandria and Cairo.

Baalbek, which is actually located in Lebanon, is famous for its exquisitely detailed but monumentally scaled temple ruins of the Roman period, during which Baalbek, then known as Heliopolis, was one of the largest sanctuaries in the Empire.

JPGs are available upon request.