67 - [PALMYRE – MERMOZ] RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS, notably taken by Corporal Jean Mermoz between 1921 and 1923 during his stay...

[PALMYRE – MERMOZ] RARE AND EXCEPTIONAL COLLECTION OF PHOTOGRAPHS, notably taken by Corporal Jean Mermoz between 1921 and 1923 during his stay... Comprising 33 silver gelatin prints 10.8 x 16.5 cm Hand-captioned on an orange cardboard mount as follows: -“Euphrates Valley (photographic mission to Der-ez-Zor) (pilot: Cpl. Mermoz; observer: Lt. Azibert) (photo taken at an altitude of 2,000 meters) May 17, 1922”; -“Euphrates Valley, 2,000 m. May 17, 1922”; -“Der-ez-Zor on the Euphrates (border town between Syria and Mesopotamia, elevation 750 m. May 17, 1922”; -“Palmyra: Columns with capitals; ruins of the city wall and houses of the inhabitants of Tadmor”; -“Palmyra: Ruins of colonnades; the Crusader castle”; -“Palmyra (Tadmor): Columns and walls of the Temple of the Sun (Arab houses in the foreground)”; -“Palmyra: Porphyry columns at the entrance to the Great Colonnade”; -“Palmyra: The Temple of the Sun”; -“Palmyra: The Crusader Castle (south facade, entrance to the drawbridge)”; -“Palmyra: Bas-relief depicting the sons of Queen Zenobia (sarcophagus)”; -“Palmyra: Fluted columns. Enclosure of the Temple of the Sun and Arab houses)”; -“Palmyra (Ruins and Tomb)”; -“Palmyra: The Theater”; -“Palmyra: General View of the Ruins—The Seraglio”; -“Palmyra: The Great Colonnade”; -“Palmyra (the Seraglio and ruins)”; -“Palmyra (Entrance to the Great Colonnade)”; -“Saïda (Sidon): Seaside airfield—Cal Mermoz’s aircraft landing”; -“Palmyra: The Castle (North Facade)”; -“Palmyra: Squadron Br.54 (‘The Gazelles’)”; -“Saida (Sidon): The City and the Port (Aerial view taken from 1,500 m)”; -“Palmyra: The Temple of the Sun (North Gate of the Enclosure); The French School x”; -“Druze Mountains (Mon Tani?) in flight”; -“Tyr (800 m)”; -“Ruins of Baalbek and Piotte on the way to Homs and Aleppo”; -“General view of Baalbek and the ruins, taken from 1,000 m.”; -“Ruins of Baalbek (Syria) (Temples of the Sun and Jupiter). Aerial view: altitude 500 m.”; -“Palmyra: bas-relief depicting Queen Zenobia, her ministers, and her guard (Queen’s Tomb)”; -“Palmyra: Enclosure of the Temple of the Sun, tilted by at least 20°”; -“Palmyra: Triumphal Arch at the Entrance to the Great Colonnade”; -“Palmyra (Tadmor) (Aerial view taken at an altitude of 2,500 m): The Ruins, The Cemetery, The Temple of the Sun, and The Gardens”; -“Palmyra: The Great Colonnade”; -“The Mar – Beirut (Beirut River) (With the Lebanon Mountains in the background)” (Creases, stains, wear, mounting holes). Some parts of the montage bear the inscription “Mermoz” and a number written in pencil on the back. Included are 9 photographs depicting views of the city of Damascus (Grand Mosque, minaret, souk), the ruins of Baalbek, and General Gouraud’s residence in Beirut, taken for the 1921 “Greater Lebanon” exhibition; old water stains 10 x 14.5 cm A rare and remarkable collection of photographs of Palmyra, including photographs taken by Corporal Jean Mermoz between 1921 and 1923 during his stay in Syria and Lebanon Provenance: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Passed down through the family