DU CAMP, Maxime (1822-1894)
Égypte, Nubie, Palestine et Syrie. Dessins Photographiques recueillis pendant les années 1849, 1850 et 1851
Paris: par J. Claye et Cie. [for] Gide et J. Baudry, 1852. Folio. (17 x 12 3/8 inches). Half-title, 125 salted paper prints (each approximately 6 1/2 x 8 11/16 inches, or the reverse) printed by Blanquart-Evrard, being 112 views of Egypt, 6 of Jerusalem, and 7 of Baalbek, each individually mounted on card with engraved title, number, and imprint, and 3 engraved plans, one of which double-page, and 61 pp. of text.
Contemporary half red morocco over marbled paper boards, spine with raised bands forming seven compartments, tooled and lettered gilt
Provenance: Honoré Théodore Paul Joseph d'Albert, 8th Duke of Luynes (1802-1867), art collector, archaeologist, scientist, and photographic patron; by descent
A superb first edition of Du Camp’s landmark photographic survey of Egypt, Nubia, Palestine, Jerusalem, and Syria, with 125 salted paper prints by Blanquart-Evrard, from the library of the Duc de Luynes. Superbly conceived and well-made volume, and an exemplary demonstration of the photographic art, fully meriting its reputation as the first completely realised photobook.
Du Camp's Égypte, Nubie, Palestine et Syrie is one of the defining achievements of early photographic publishing. Published just over a decade after the public introduction of photography, the work helped move the medium from experiment and private portfolio into the form of a large, commercially published travel book. Its 125 photographs record monuments, temples, river landscapes, architectural fragments, inscriptions, and urban views across the Nile Valley, Jerusalem, and Baalbek, presenting archaeology and travel through the new authority of the camera. In November 1849, Maxime Du Camp travelled east with Gustave Flaubert. Du Camp had secured a mission from the Ministry of Public Instruction to photograph and study archaeological sites, while Flaubert travelled under an official commission to gather information on commerce, agriculture, and industry. After an initial stay in Cairo, the two hired a boat and travelled up the Nile as far as the Second Cataract, then descended the river while visiting archaeological sites along its banks. In July 1850 they left Egypt for Palestine and Syria, then continued through Turkey and Greece before parting in Italy the following spring. Du Camp had learned photography shortly before departure from Gustave Le Gray, and later adapted his practice after meeting Baron Alexis de La Grange in Cairo, who introduced him to Blanquart-Evrard's improved process. The undertaking was physically demanding. Photography in the desert required chemicals, distilled water, paper, camera equipment, and a temporary darkroom, all transported through difficult conditions. Du Camp ultimately made 214 negatives of approximately 60 monuments and sites, from which 125 were selected for publication. Blanquart-Evrard printed the images as salted paper prints, individually mounted with engraved captions, numbers, and imprints, creating one of the earliest major works in which photographs, text, plans, and archaeological itinerary were joined in a single publication. The images follow the route and intellectual programme of the journey. Egypt and Nubia dominate the series, from Cairo and the Nile to Thebes, Karnak, Philae, and Abu Simbel. The final sections extend the visual record to Jerusalem and Baalbek, placing biblical and classical antiquity within the same photographic project. The accompanying plans of Karnak, Medinet Habu, and Philae reinforce the archaeological purpose of the book, while the photographs themselves preserve the tonal delicacy, architectural precision, and stillness characteristic of early paper-negative photography. The provenance gives this copy particular resonance. Honoré d'Albert, Duc de Luynes, was among the important French collectors and patrons of archaeology and photography in the mid-nineteenth century. A member of the Société Française de Photographie, he established prizes for advances in photographic printing, including carbon-based processes, and supported archaeological research connected with Egypt and the eastern Mediterranean. A copy of Du Camp's great photographic book from Luynes's library therefore unites subject, medium, and provenance with unusual coherence.
Parr and Badger, The Photobook: A History (2004), p. 23.
Item #43069
Price: $220,000.00