Large folio (470 x 350 mm). A total of 52 albumen prints (36 from Egypt, signed Zangaki brothers, all 215 x 275 mm, and 16 from Australia, mostly signed Hitch & Co., 150 x 200 mm), all mounted on cardboard, each with handwritten identifying captions in French, German, and English. Dark brown morocco binding gilt on upper cover with golden corner fleurons and gilt title "Februar - April 1895" (signed in lower left corner: "C. Keuth, relieur, Anvers"). Moirée endpapers. All edges gilt. A charming and sumptuously bound album commemorating a journey through Egypt in the spring of 1895. The photos include four views of Suez and the Canal, numerous impressive scenes of Cairo, its streets and palaces, with panoramic views, the Mosques of Muhammad Ali and of Sultan Hassan, the Citadel, the Tombs of the Caliphs, the Tombs of the Mamelukes, the road to the pyramids (with locals posing), the Sphinx and an ascent of the Great Pyramid, the statue of Ramses II at Saqqara and the Pyramid of Djoser, the Obelisk at Heliopolis, Pompay's Columns at Alexandria, etc. - The additional photos of Australia, dated February 1895, all show views from the Blue Mountains in New South Wales, including landscapes of the "Three Sisters", Nellie's Glen, Bride's Veil, and Negalong Gate, and interiors of the Jenolan Caves. - Some occasional fading, but generally in very good condition. The brothers Georgios and Constantinos Zangaki, originally hailing from Greece, set up their first studio in Port Said around 1870, and a second one in Cairo around 1895. After the inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869, which opened Europe to Egypt and Eastern Asia, Egypt became a desirable destination for Western tourists. The brothers produced attractive images of Egypt for the growing market of European tourists, drawing on a familiar genre of orientalist scenes.
