Folio album ca. 40x30 cm (15 ¾ x 11 ¾ in). 88 album paper leaves. With one mounted albumen two-part panorama ca. 22x56 cm (8 ½ x 22 in) and 33 large mounted albumen photos from ca. 21,5x28 cm (8 ½ x 11 in) to ca. 12x18 cm (4 ¾ x 7 ¼ in); 27 images are captioned and signed “Bonfils” in negative. With ca. 223 gelatin silver photos, including one large image ca. 22x26,5 cm (8 ½ x 10 ½ in) and a cabined portrait photo ca. 14,5x10 cm (5 ¾ x 4 in, mounted on the original card of “A. Bonfils, Beyrouth;” period ink note “Souvenir, Elias Pierre Hoyette, Patriarche Maronite, le 11 Fev. 1901;” a later ink note on verso). The rest of the photos are from ca. 14x20 cm (5 ½ x 7 ¾ in) to ca. 6,5x8,5 cm (2 ½ x 3 ¼ in). With twenty small studio gelatin silver photos of Baalbec temples, all ca. 7x9 cm (2 ¾ x 3 ½ in), all captioned in negative. With eleven mounted collotypes from ca. 22x29 cm (8 ½ x 11 ½ in); eight are captioned in English and signed “English Photo Co.” in negative; another two are captioned in French in negative. Over 220 images with period ink captions in French on the mounts. Over 110 images with manuscript inscriptions identifying the photographer as “Dr. A.B.;” over 60 – with notes identifying other amateur photographers (“Cl. Lagrésille,” “Cl. Ménier,” “Cl. Michaud,” “Cliches du R.P. Jossen (dominicain),” “Cl. Jezequel,” “Cl. Morache,” “Cl. Couturier” and others).

With ca. 69 printed postcards (several cut to a smaller size); over fifty with manuscript text and address on recto or verso; five with an ink manuscript title “cartes postales d’après mes clichés. Dr. A.B.” With two ink-drawn half-titles, one is signed “Marie Bartet” in the left lower corner. With over a dozen pieces of various mounted, bound in or loosely inserted ephemera. Period green full cloth album with a gilt-lettered title and the owner’s name (“A. Bartet”) on the front board; marbled endpapers; binder’s paper label on the front pastedown endpaper (“A. Mouchès, Rochefort-S-Mer”). Binding slightly rubbed on extremities, spine with neat repairs on the hinges, one photo previously removed, a few photos mildly faded or with mild silvering, but overall a very good album of strong interesting photos.

Historically significant, extensively annotated collection of original amateur and studio photos, taken and collected by Albéric Bartet, a naval doctor, who served on board the French cruiser “Pothuau” in the Mediterranean in 1901-1902. “Pothuau” (in service: 1897-1929) was a part of the French Mediterranean squadron with a base in Toulon. Albéric Bartet was a son of French naval doctor Joseph-Désiré Bartet. During his career, Bartet-son served for the French navy in Dahomey, Port Louis, the Mediterranean and his hometown of Rochefort (Charente-Maritime department) and was an avid amateur photographer. Over 110 photos in the album have noted as taken by Bartet, and over 60 images are attributed to other crew members of the “Pothuau” (Charles Lagrésille, Fernand Ménier, Antoine Michaud, Alphonse Jézéquel, Alphonse Morache and many others). Bartet also identified several printed postcards in the album that were published after his “clichés.”

The album contains interesting photos, documenting French negotiations with the ambassador of the Sultanate of Morocco Si Abdel Kerim ben Sliman, on board the “Pothuau” in May-June 1901, just a few years before the French Conquest of Morocco (1907-1927). Several images show the capture and occupation by the “Pothuau” marines of the Turkish customs house in Mytilene (Lesbos Island) in November 1901. Another series of images document “Pothuau’s” meeting with Russian naval cruisers in Tangier in April 1902. There is also a cabinet portrait photo of a Maronite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch, Elias Peter Hoayek (1843-1931), presented to Bartet and other French officers, who dined with him in Beirut.

The album opens with nine photos of the towns on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey – Alexandretta (Iskenderun), Mersin, and Tarsus, showing local streets, markets, caravanserais and camel drivers. A large image by the Bonfils studio shows Cydnus Falls near Tarsus. Three gelatin silver photos show Latakia in modern-day Syria (a street, Roman ruins, Crusader fort in the harbour); two albumen photos by Bonfils show Roman ruins in the city. The other gelatin silver photos of Turkey include nine views of Smyrna/ Izmir (the deck of the Pothuau, exercises of Turkish infantry soldiers, streets, camels near the Bridge of Caravans, minarets, caique boats and Turkish women at a water fountain).

Over fifty images depict modern-day Lebanon. There are seven views of Tripoli (general views, Kadisha River, Convent of the Mullawiyeh, “Castel de Raymond”/Tripoli Citadel, horse-driven tramcar). Fifteen images of Beirut and its environs include large albumen views of the city skyline, Beirut harbour with French and British naval ships (“Pothuau,” “Du Chayla,” “Chanzy,” “Royal Oak”), the Petit Serail (demolished in 1950), the promenade at the Pine Residence, a group portrait of Lebanese guards at the French consulate general, commemorative stelae of Nahr el-Kaib; gelatin silver views of the exterior and interior of College Saint Joseph in Antoura, smaller views of Beirut square, orange market, a street barber shop, &c. A cabinet portrait photo depicts Elias Peter Hoayek (1843-1931), Maronite Catholic Patriarch of Antioch in 1898-1931. A presentation inscription on recto is dated February 11, 1901; a later manuscript note on verso testifies that such photos were presented to all French officers of Rear Admiral Caillard’s division who dined at the table of “Bishop Hayette.” There are also general views of the Lebanese cities of Baabda, Zahle and Saida (Sidon). Thirteen large albumen photos (including a two-part panorama) and twenty studio gelatin silver images of Baalbec show the Temple of Venus, the Temple of Bacchus, the Temple of Jupiter, the Stone of the Pregnant Woman, ruins of a medieval mosque and a fortress, the Propylaea, walls built from stone monoliths, a wooden alley next to the Ras-el-Ain spring, &c. Two large albumen photos by Bonfils studio portray a Druze woman wearing a tantour headdress and men praying in the Great Mosque of Damascus.

Over a dozen views of modern-day Israel show the French cruiser “Du Chayla” in the harbour of St. Jean d’Acre (Acre), Haifa (waterfront, Stella Maris Catholic monastery, a cafe), Nazareth (general views in summer and under snow, Casa Nova pilgrim house, interior of St. Joseph’s Franciscan church, Mount Tabor, portraits of locals), and Tiberias.

The album also contains over sixty images of Greece. Twenty-five gelatin silver photos show the island of Rhodes (windmills of Mandraki, fortifications, Gate d’Ambois, Gate of St. John, Rue des Chevaliers, Fort of St. Nicholas, churches, streets, private houses, &c. One albumen photo by Bonfils shows the medieval Rue des Chevaliers). Over thirty gelatin silver photos of Athens include a series of views in the port and harbour of Piraeus (royal yacht “Amphitrite,” Russian naval cruiser “Gromoboi,” French cruiser “Changy,” a portrait of “daughters of a French minister, Mr. d’Ormesson, and prince Christophoros, 4th son of the king of Greece,” “the queen of Greece embarking in a speedboat,” &c.), the temples and sites of Acropolis, “the prison of Socrates,” the Theatre of Bacchus, the Choragic Monument of Lysistrates, Arch of Hadrian, Syntagma Square, members of the Evzones infantry unit, &c. Eleven collotype views with extensive manuscript annotations by the compiler show the Acropolis (Propilaia, Temple of Theseus, Temple of Nike Apteros, Pinakotheke, Parthenon, Erechtheion), Philopappos Monument, general view of Athens, gate to the ancient Agora, and Little Metropolis church.

The part of the album, separately titled “Croisière du “Pothuau” sur les côtes du Maroc, du 13 mai au 13 juin 1901,” contains over fifty gelatin silver photos: scenes on board the “Pothuau” at sea, views of Tangier (French naval ships in harbour, the Kasbah or Citadel, city market, a street snake charmer), Mogador/Essaouira (general views, fortifications, customs house, city gates, streets, “Admiral’s escort,” city market, caravanserai, street water sellers, “Moroccan Jews,” &c.), Tunisia (Ferryville/ Menzel Bourguiba) and Algeria (views of Phillippeville/Skikda, Bone/Annaba). Nine interesting scenes document a visit of “Moroccan ambassadors” to the “Pothuau” – among the people carefully identified by the compiler are French Admiral Leonce Albert Caillard (1846-1917, the commander of the French Mediterranean squadron), Paul Revoil (1856-1914, then French minister in Marocco), “Ben Gabri” (Abdelkader Benghabrit, an interpreter in the French Legation in Tangier), Si Abdel Kerim ben Sliman (Moroccan ambassador), his interpreter and assistant, and French naval officers.

The part of the album, titled “Le Conflit Franco-Turc…” contains several interesting gelatin silver photos, documenting the Franco-Tirkish conflict of 1901. Due to several unsolved claims to the Ottoman government from French banks and corporations, on November 7, 1901, several French naval ships seized and occupied the customs house in Mytilene on Lesbos Island, then under Turkish control. The images include a large scene with the marines from “Pothuau” occupying the customs house, as well as views of Mytilene harbour and fortifications taken from the cruiser. The other photos show Hermopolis/Ermoupoli on Syra/Syros Island (the Cyclades): Miaouli square, harbour, French naval ships “Espingole,” “Chanzy,” “Linois,” portraits of “Thouau” officers, &c. There are also several views of Bizerte (Tunisia): French naval ships in port, Ponty Bay and French Admiralty, a visit of Admiral Boutet to coastal fisheries, naval establishments in Sidi Abdallah, &c.

The last part of the album, titled “Vingt-quatre Heures a Tanger avec une division navale Russe…” includes views of Tangier (port and customs house, city market, interior of the Kasbah/Citadel) and its harbour with Russian cruisers “Dmitry Doskoy” and “Admiral Kornilov” and “Pothuau.” Two albumen photos show ornate doorways and a black servant with a plate of couscous.

The printed postcards - most with extensive manuscript text and address on recto or verso; at least five printed after the original photos by the compiler – show the sites of Athens, Thessaly, Mersine/Mersin, Adana, Smyrna/Izmir, Tangier, Mazagan/El Jadida, Marrakesh, Alcasar, Biskra, Beirut, French naval ships, portraits of native people of Northern Africa, &c. The ephemera includes a menu and program of reception on board the “Pothuau” on October 23, 1901 (etching); a program of a musical night in the “Société Philarmonique de Rochefort-sur-Mer” (1904) with a sepia watercolour title; magazine clippings, book pages, a travel pamphlet, &c.

Overall an interesting content-rich original source on the history of France’s naval presence in the Eastern Mediterranean and northern Africa in the years leading to the French conquest of Morocco.