959 - Unknown (19th), Engelberg in the Swiss canton of Obwalden, 1877, albumen paper print

Unknown (19th), Engelberg in the Swiss canton of Obwalden, 1877, albumen paper print Unknown (19th century): View of the small town of Engelberg in the Swiss canton of Obwalden, Central Switzerland, 1877, albumen paper print Technique: albumen paper print, mounted on Paper Date: 1877 Description: Inscribed and dated "Engelberg 1877" in pencil on the backing. Original photograph with high sharpness of detail. An early example of travel photography. Around the middle of the 19th century, more and more tourists from bourgeois circles travelled around Europe. At that time, photographs could only be taken at great expense in terms of time and with expensive, unwieldy equipment. This made many tourists all the more grateful for the work of the professional photographer's studios on site, so that they could bring back a souvenir from their holiday home or collect them as mementos. The photographers photographed the most famous sights of their home towns and cities and travelled themselves to photograph their customers' favourite destinations and offer them as albumen prints. Ancient art treasures were also photographed and offered to travellers. The high-quality photographs of sculptures and frescoes continued to make an important contribution to documenting the art treasures and making them accessible to scholars from all over Europe, who previously had to rely on copies or engravings if they were unable to view the original themselves. Keywords: Switzerland, 19th century, Historicism, Architecture, Switzerland, Size: Albumen paper: 9,4 cm x 16,3 cm (3,7 x 6,4 in) Condition: Rather good condition. Slightly stained. Clearly creased along the upper and lower edge of the sheet.