Baalbek Photographs

27 albumen photographs (c. 255 x 190 - 210 mm) pasted on recto of 27 white cardboard mounts with German manuscript captions. Cont. blind embossed red ripped cloth, gilt stamped title "Baalbek" on front cover, marbled edges. Rear paste-down with manuscript note "Die Bilder 4, 7, 9 bis 12, 15, 20 und 23 sind Aufnahmen von Leemo, Beirut, die übrigen von A. Bonfils, Beirut". Fancy endpapers. Oblong folio (315 x 400 mm). Fine.

An archeological album focused on the stunning building remains of the Baalbek temple complex from the Roman period, housing two of the largest and grandest Roman temples, the temple of Bacchus and the temple of Jupiter with an unusual number of photographs showing in richly detailed images from various perspectives details of architectural structures. It was inscribed in 1984 as an UNESCO World Heritage site. – Maison Bonfils was a French family-run company producing and selling photography and photographic products from Beirut from 1867 until 1918. The Bonfils ran the first and, in their time, most successful photographic studio in the city. Adrien Bonfils (1861-1929) son of the founder and a prolific photographer himself took over the business from his father together with his mother Lydie Bonfils in 1878 and working there until the early 1890s. I couldn't find any reference to the second photographer or studio Leemo, Beirut mentioned in the manuscript note. Excellent overall condition.