Photography

[Photo book] Stahr, Adolf

Rafael-Album mit einer lebensskizze Rafael´s und den erklärungen der bilder von Adolf Stahr. Fünfte Auflage.

Berlin. Gustav Schauer Königschle Hof - Kunsthandlung. Photographie u. Verlag von Gustav Schauer Berlin. Ca. 1865. Folio. 34 x 26 cm. 40 pp. (including title and contents) + 10 mounted albumen photographs.

Original blind pressed brown cloth with title and ornamentations in gilt at the front board. Worn and faded binding. The interior is detached from the binding. A few minor spots to the margins.

This is the first of four free standing volumes with photo reproductions of Rafaels art by Adolf Stahr. The first edition of the present volume was published ca. 1860. Here we have the fifth edition, which was probably published in the mid 1860s. A quite early book for pasted photographs. The photographs are mounted on stiff card boards and have captions in german, french and english. Books containing reproductions of art work in photography was very popular in the second half of the 19th. century, eventhough it was only possible to make black and white photos. Photography made it possible for the first time to exactly reproduce art and distribute it among a great number of people. But these kind of books soon became obsolete when fine colour reproductions became available. They have not been valued in the 20th. century. Most copies have been thrown away, which means that these importatant documents on early photo reproduction of art are scarce today.

Item No: 2711