Photo album of Algeria, late 19th century [c. 1860]. Dimensi - Lot 572

Photo album of Algeria, late 19th century [c. 1860]. Dimensions: 15.5 x 12 cm; bound in full shagreen with embossed decoration and a gilded metal clasp (unbound). Contains 48 photographs measuring 9.5 x 6.3 cm: 37 women, 2 children, and 9 men. Some bear the mark of the Alary-Geiser studio, which operated in Algiers and Oran, on the back. Jean-Baptiste Alary settled in Algeria in 1847, where he learned photography under the guidance of photographer Louis Joseph Delemotte. He soon established his own business and was one of the first professional photographers to set up shop in Algeria. In 1854–1855, Alary went into business with the widow of a Swiss watchmaker, Julie Geiser (widow of Lucien-Jacob Geiser). Their photography studio remained active until 1868, when he handed it over to the Geiser children.Photographs from the Alary-Geiser studio were used to illustrate newspaper articles about Napoleon III’s trip to Algeria in 1865 and the 1867 earthquake.