Engravings

1847 · ref. 14685 — 1847. Firmin Didot. Three steel engravings published in L'Univers Pittoresque in 1847 depicting the Sultan of Lahij's palace a greeting between two Arab men and a saddled camel prepared for travel. The group belongs to the illustrated French literature through which nineteenth-century European readers encountered the Arabian Peninsula combining architectural views with scenes of customary greeting and travel. The Lahij image is especially useful for documenting how the residence of the sultanate near Aden was visually presented to European audiences before the major political changes that reshaped southern Arabia later in the century. Firmin Didot. Chateau Du Saltan d'Aden a Lahadj; Salut des Arabes; Chameau scelle pour le Voyage. Paris: Firmin Didot 1847. Three original steel engravings each approximately 5 x 8.2 inches. Chateau Du Saltan d'Aden a Lahadj shows the Sultan of Lahij's castle set within a cultivated and mountainous landscape with palm trees and surrounding countryside. Salut des Arabes depicts two Arab men greeting one another with a handshake. Chameau scelle pour le Voyage shows a saddled camel in a desert setting emphasizing the animal's role in overland travel. Comparable examples of these subjects are attributed to the engraver Lemaitre in the contemporary print market. The three prints preserve a French illustrated view of southern Arabia that moves between political architecture social custom and transportation. Their publication in 1847 places them within the period when Aden had already come under British control while neighboring Lahij retained its own sultanate giving the palace view a specific political geography distinct from the port colony itself. Some age-related toning and pinholes in the upper margins; the first engraving has remnants of a sticker at the upper right corner. The third engraving shows former staple marks and an approximately 4 cm loss along the upper edge not affecting the image. Overall very good condition. unknown books