Raoult, Ivan Petrovic
Armed forces of the Russian Empire
Los 4106
Ergebnis (inkl. Aufgeld) *
4.500€ (US$ 5,172)
Armed forces of the Russian Empire. Circa 1878. 24 albumen prints. Each circa 24 x 20 cm or reverse. Each numbered, titled, and dated by another hand in pencil on the verso.
The photographs depict military and paramilitary figures from the Russian Empire’s southern frontier, including Caucasian Cossack officers and rank-and-file soldiers, as well as locally recruited mountaineers and irregular auxiliaries of Circassian type. Together, they reflect the diversity of imperial forces in the Caucasus, combining formal Cossack units with indigenous warrior traditions integrated into Russian service. – Some handling creases and fading, especially around the edges of the prints; one print with a torn corner, otherwise all strong-toned prints in very good condition.
Redmayne, John Thomas
Micro-photographs from the Diatomaceae
Los 4107
Ergebnis (inkl. Aufgeld) *
3.125€ (US$ 3,592)
Micro-photographs from the Diatomaceae. 20,5 x 16 cm. 59 l. and 65 albumen prints (59 mounted on plates), circa 12,5 x 10 cm. Original green gilt stamped cloth, marbled endpapers. Bolton, n.d., ca. 1876.
First and only edition of a privately printed album of microphotographs illustrating various genera of microalgae, inscribed by the author to a microscope manufacturer; exceedingly rare. John T. Redmayne, a surgeon and physician, developed a specialized interest in microscopy, focusing on the collection and photographic documentation of diatoms. Among the more accomplished microphotographers of his time, he was also a founding member of the Bolton Microscopical Society, which supported his work. Published at his own expense in 1876, the album was not commercially distributed but circulated selectively as gifts or in exchange for scientific materials. This copy is inscribed to Thomas Armstrong of Armstrong & Brother Microscopes, Manchester, and includes an additional photograph of Trichina spiralis, signed by Armstrong and the photographer “J. G. Johnson,” as well as six further microphotographs preserved in a small envelope mounted to a text leaf, four depicting insects. Only one institutional copy is recorded (University of Victoria, B.C.), underscoring the publication’s rarity. – Spine and edges of book rubbed, inner front cracked, marginal foxing on leaves, some soiling on leaves, especially at front and back of book, leaves warped, a few prints with fading and foxing, otherwise many strong prints with a dark violet-brown tone and in good condition.
Photographers: Carl Heinrich Jacobi (1824-1897) and Gottfried Theodor Hase (active ca. 1818-1888). Early views along the Rhine River. 1850s-1860s. 4 rounded albumen prints, mounted to card with ruled borders. Each between 12 x 16 cm and 15,5 x 20,5 cm or reverse (mounts ca. 23 x 30 cm). All with printed photographer credit and place name below the image on the mount; some annotated in black ink on mount verso.
Carl Heinrich Jacobi worked as a photographer and publisher in Bad Kreuznach and the Middle Rhine region, producing composed topographical views of towns, river landscapes, and spa resorts. His work belongs to the tradition of commercially distributed Rhine photography, issued in albums and portfolios for tourism and the growing market for photographic souvenirs. Gottfried Theodor Hase, trained as a painter before turning to photography, is regarded as Freiburg im Breisgau’s first professional photographer. From the early 1860s onward, he documented the city’s medieval architecture and urban fabric with a clear, descriptive approach. – Some light fading and foxing of mounts, otherwise all in good to very good condition.
Robertson, James
Views of Constantinople
Los 4110
Ergebnis (inkl. Aufgeld) *
3.750€ (US$ 4,310)
Views of Constantinople. 1850s-1860s. 3 albumenized salted paper prints and 1 salted paper print, mounted to card. Each ca. 24,2 x 28,2 cm (mounts 50 x 65 cm). Each annotated in pencil in the lower margin of the mount; one photograph numbered and titled in the negative in the lower left corner; one photograph with the photographer’s signature in the lower margin, partially cut off.
A Scottish engraver by training, Robertson served as chief engraver to the Imperial Ottoman Mint before turning to photography in the early 1850s. His photographs combine a precise architectural sensibility with a documentary interest in the urban fabric and daily life of the Ottoman capital. They are among the earliest systematic photographic records of the city. The views in this lot include the Galata Tower, the Fountain of Sultan Ahmed III, sections of the Theodosian walls, and the tomb of Sultan Suleiman. – Some handling creases, soiling, and tears along the margins of the mounts; mounts slightly time-stained with minor surface marks; all prints with some degree of fading and occasional light surface soiling, one print with signs of retouching; otherwise strong tonal prints, in good to very good condition.
Robertson, James
Interior of the Redan / View of an Abandoned Russian Battery / View of Sebastopol
Los 4111
Ergebnis (inkl. Aufgeld) *
1.500€ (US$ 1,724)
Interior of the Redan / View of an Abandoned Russian Battery / View of Sebastopol. 1855-1856. 3 salted paper prints, mounted to boards. Each ca. 23,5 x 29 cm (mounts 46 x 57 cm). With handwritten captions in pencil on the lower margin.
Taken by James Robertson during the Crimean War, these photographs depict key scenes from the Siege of Sevastopol, including the interior of the Redan, an abandoned Russian battery, and a general view of the city. Captured in the immediate aftermath of battle, they reveal shattered fortifications, debris-strewn terrain, and the desolate remnants of military infrastructure. As early examples of war photography, these images serve not only as historical documents of a pivotal conflict, but also as powerful visual testaments to photography’s role in recording the realities of modern warfare. – Slightly faded, with a few minimal ink stains and light spotting; otherwise all in near excellent condition.
Photographer: Thomas Andrew (1855-1939). Views from Samoa. Late 1890s-early 1900s. 38 albumen prints, mounted to board. Each between ca. 20 x 14,5 cm and 18 x 24 cm (mounts ca. 29 x 37,5 cm). Some prints dated, numbered, and signed in the negative in the lower margin.
The photographs offer a broad survey of Samoan life, combining posed studio portraits with outdoor scenes and staged genre subjects. Men and women appear in ceremonial dress - feathered headdresses, shell and tooth necklaces, and woven ornaments - alongside images of village interiors, ritual performances, dance scenes, and communal activities such as processions and feasts. Produced by Thomas Andrew, who lived and worked in Samoa from 1891 to 1939, the group reflects his sustained engagement with local society and forms part of a larger body of work documenting the islands’ landscapes, people, and cultural life during the colonial period. – Some minor scuff marks and fading on a few prints; otherwise all in very good condition.
Photographer: E. Huard (active 1850-1866). Views of St. Petersburg. 1860s. 11 albumen prints, mounted to board. Each ca. 17 x 23 cm or reverse (mounts ca. 31 x 42 cm or reverse). Some signed and numbered in the negative.
Taken by the prolific yet lesser-known photographer E. Huard, this lot offers an extensive photographic survey of Saint Petersburg in the early 1860s, encompassing many of its principal imperial landmarks, including Saint Isaac’s Cathedral, the Winter Palace, Smolny Monastery, the Monument to Nicholas I, the Bronze Horseman, and the Alexander Column. Additional views show Konnogvardeysky Boulevard, the Nikolaevsky Bridge, and Nevsky Prospekt, depicted both as a bustling urban artery animated by horse-drawn traffic and crowds and as the setting for a grand military parade with cavalry, infantry, and spectators lining the avenue. – Some scuff marks. some light fading, otherwise strong tonal prints in near excellent condition.
Excitement. 1888. Albumen print, mounted to card. 14,7 x 20 cm (mount 29,8 x 21,5 cm). Signed and numbered in the negative in lower left corner. With another albumen print of the port of Whitby mounted to the verso.
This photograph is among the most characteristic works by Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, made in Whitby in the 1880s. Closely associated with the British pictorial movement, Sutcliffe developed a practice of staging scenes drawn from everyday coastal life, often using local children to create compositions that appear spontaneous yet are carefully constructed. The work exemplifies the late 19th-century shift toward photography as a more expressive and narrative medium. – Some minor foxing to the mount, edges slightly time-stained; some scuff marks and fading of the print; otherwise in very good condition.
The Ladder from "The Pencil of Nature", plate XIV. 1844. Varnished salted paper print, mounted to board. 16,8 x 18 cm (mount ca. 23,4 x 30,5 cm). With an ink outline around the image; original paper label on the verso reading “PATENT TALBOTYPE or SUN PICTURES,” numbered “14” in ink, and annotated in ink: “At Lacock Abbey, Wilts.”
A central figure in the invention of photography, Henry Fox Talbot developed the negative-positive process and understood photography as both a scientific and artistic medium, laying the groundwork for all later photographic reproduction. This print of The Ladder was most likely varnished by Talbot himself; as noted by Larry Schaaf, such varnishing was uncommon and undertaken only briefly as part of early experiments to improve the permanence of photographic prints. With only three other varnished examples known, the present work constitutes an important and rare document in the early history of photography. – Board time-stained at edges. Print slightly faded with yellowed varnish; otherwise in good condition.
Lit.: Larry J. Schaaf. The Photographic Art of William Henry Fox Talbot. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000, see pp. 200-201.
Teynard, Félix
Dendérah (Tentyris), Temple d'Athôr - Face Posterieure
Los 4119
Ergebnis (inkl. Aufgeld) *
2.000€ (US$ 2,299)
Dendérah (Tentyris), Temple d’Athôr - Face postérieure (plate 24, “Égypte et Nubie”). 1851-52. Salted paper print, printed 1853-54, mounted on the original album page. 25,2 x 31 cm (mount 39,5 x 50,5 cm). Title, plate number, and publisher’s imprint printed below the image on the mount.
Félix Teynard, an engineer and self-taught photographer, traveled through Egypt between late 1851-1852 with the aim of producing photographic views of architectural monuments to supplement the engravings published following the Napoleonic expeditions (1809-1829). Working with a large-format camera, he used the waxed paper negative process popularized by Gustave Le Gray, enabling him to achieve exceptional detail under difficult conditions. Around 160 photographs from this journey were published in Égypte et Nubie: sites et monuments les plus intéressants pour l’étude de l’art et de l’histoire, of which only about a dozen complete copies survive. Teynard’s photographs were met with considerable critical acclaim and were exhibited at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1855. – A small tear and some light handling creases on the mount; slight signs of retouching along the margins of the print; otherwise a strong print in near excellent condition.
Teynard, Félix
Karnak (Thèbes). Palais - Salle Hypostyle - Colonnade Centrale Vue du Point J.
Los 4120
Ergebnis (inkl. Aufgeld) *
5.000€ (US$ 5,747)
Karnak (Thèbes). Palais – Salle hypostyle – Colonnade centrale, vue du point J (plate 89, Égypte et Nubie). 1851-52. Salted paper print, printed 1853-54, mounted on the original album page. 30,6 x 25,6 cm (mount 50,5 x 39,5 cm). With the title, plate number, and publisher’s imprint printed below the image on the mount.
Some light handling creases on the mount; slight signs of retouching along the margins of the print, two foxing spots in the sky area as well as a small fungal spot; otherwise a strong print in very good condition.
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© 2026 Galerie Gerda Bassenge
Galerie Bassenge
Erdener Str. 5A
14193 Berlin
Öffnungszeiten:
Montag bis Donnerstag, 10–18 Uhr,
Freitag, 10–16 Uhr
Telefon: +49 30 8938029-0
Fax: +49 30 8918025
E-Mail: info (at) bassenge.com
Impressum
Datenschutzerklärung
© 2026 Galerie Gerda Bassenge