[TUNISIA] Album of 92 Albumen Studio and Amateur Photos. Ca. 1890s-1910s

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[TUNISIA] Album of 92 Albumen Studio and Amateur Photos. Ca. 1890s-1910s:
$2250.00

Oblong Elephant Folio (ca. 46.5 x 32 cm or 18 ¼ x 12 ½ in). 38 cardstock leaves. 92 albumen photographs from ca. 27.5 x 21.5 cm (10 ¾ x 8 ½ in) to 11 x 8 cm (4 ¼ x 3 in). Over 50 images are captioned in negative. Period black quarter sheep album with cloth boards and spine with raised bands. Boards and spine mildly rubbed on extremities; mounts slightly waved and age-toned; A few photos mildly faded, but overall a very good album of interesting strong photos.

An interesting collection of 92 albumen studio and amateur photographs taken during a trip to Tunis and its environs during the time of the French protectorate of Tunisia. The protectorate was established in 1881, after the French conquest of the same year, to suppress British and Italian influence there. French Tunisia operated in effect as a colony and eventually gained independence in 1956. More than half of the photographs are signed in negative by Maison Garrigues, a Tunis-based studio known for its views of Tunisia; and one photograph is signed in negative by F. Soler, part of the studio Photo Soler-Pavia frères, based in either Tunisia or Algeria and photographed Roman ruins. Photos show cities located within the modern-day borders of the Tunis Governorate, including Tunis, Carthage, La Goulette, and Le Bardo.

Photographs of Tunis show the palaces of Dar El Bey (the modern-day Government Palace) and Dar Hussein, Al-Zaytuna Mosque, Sidi Mahrez Mosque, as well as street and market scenes (“Rue des Andalous,” “Rue Sidi-Mahrez,” “Rue des 5 doigts,” “Bazar minisien,” “Interieur des souks, etc.). There are also three general views of the city (“Tunis et la lac,” “Tunis et Fort Sidi Ben Hassen,” “Tunis de la kasbah”).

There are also photographs of Carthage (Basilica of Damous El Karita, La Malgra cisterns, interior of cisterns), La Goulette (city views and environs, interior of the kasbah, the dockyards), and Le Bardo (the harem, throne room, and the bed of the Bey in Ksar Saïd Palace). Several amateur snapshots show streets and buildings in Tunisia, as well as a fantasia performance (a traditional Maghrebi exhibition of horsemanship) and a parade, likely in Tunis, with floats.

Also included in the album are portraits of Tunisians (“Caïd de Djerid,” “Femme Kroumire,” “Mauresque voilée domestique,” etc.). One photograph also shows the Sidi Abderrahmane Mosque in Algiers (Algeria).

Overall, an interesting collection of photographs showing Tunisia shortly after the establishment of the French protectorate.

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