#PE70
Ca. 1882
Oblong Folio album (ca. 29,7x36,6 cm). 15 card stock leaves. With fifteen large-size albumen photos, each ca. 22,1x28,3 cm. All photos with captions (in French) in negatives, most photos signed (“Bonfils”) in negative. Period brown full-cloth binding with gilt-lettered title (“Alexandrie Juillet 1882”) and blind tooled ornaments on the front board. Binding worn, loss of the spine, several leaves detached, but otherwise a very good album with strong, interesting photos.
Historically significant collection of large-size professional photographs, documenting the immediate aftermath of the British bombardment of Alexandria in July 1882. Aimed at destroying Arabi Pasha's nationalist forces, the attack heavily damaged the city’s coastal defenses and central quarters. Shelling, followed by days of unchecked fires and widespread looting, destroyed large parts of the port area, European business district, and several key thoroughfares. After two days of fighting, British troops occupied Alexandria, marking the beginning of a prolonged period of British control over Egypt.
As follows from the captions, the photographs were produced by the pioneering Middle Eastern photographic company Maison Bonfils. Founded in Beirut in 1867 by Félix Bonfils (1831–1885), the studio became one of the most prolific and widely recognized photographic enterprises in the region.
The photographs show large-size panoramic views of the destroyed city and close-up images of prominent damaged sites: the French and English consulates, Sheikh Ibrahim Mosque, Nubar Pasha’s residence, Ramleh Boulevard, Caffe Pyramide Street, Soeurs Street, Sesostris Street, New Street, and the desolate Consul Square, with several English signs (ex. “Mayor”) still visible on surviving facades. Especially interesting are the photos of the residents navigating the rubble-strewn streets, horse carts moving through debris, and small gatherings of onlookers surveying the ruins. The collection also includes two photographs likely depicting Maison Bonfils staff posing amid the wreckage.
Overall, historically important collection of fifteen professional albumen photographs showing the ruins of Alexandria after the 1882 bombardment.
