[Photography]. [Algeria]. Jean GEISER (1852-1873) - Lot 150

[Photography]. [Algeria]. Jean GEISER (1852-1873) Chemins de Fer de l'Algérie. Magnificent and very important set of 69 photographs of the railroads of eastern Algeria. Large-format photographs (40 x 28.8cm) mounted on printed cardboard by J. Geiser photographe, Algiers. The photographer chose to highlight the following three lines: El-Guerrah to Biskra, Algiers to Constantine, Ménerville to Tizi-Ouzou. The whole set is housed in a handsome blue canvas and dominoté paper case, with an elaborate label reading Jean Geiser photographe Chemin de fer de l'Algerie . The slipcase contains : 8 photographs mounted on cardboard and printed Chemin de fer de l'est algérien, the name of the object shown under the photo; 2 photographs mounted on cardboard, dated June 3, 1887, signed in the negative, stamped Jean Geiser, painter-photographer in Algiers in the lower right-hand corner; 37 photographs mounted on blue cardboard, printed "Chemin de fer de l'est algérien, ligne d'Alger à Constantine". The negatives are signed Jean Geiser and include the name of the place. 7 photographs mounted on blue cardboard and 2 on white cardboard, printed "Chemin de fer de l'est algérien, ligne de Ménerville à Tizi-Ouzou". The negatives are signed Jean Geiser and bear the name of the site, mainly reproducing viaducts and bridge constructions. 15 photographs illustrating the El-Guerrah to Biskra line. 12 photographs on blue cardboard and 3 on white cardboard without printed indications (annotation in pencil in the lower right-hand corner Biskra ). Photographs signed in the negative, one without signature or indication. The photographs depict a variety of views, including architectural structures, viaducts and bridges, underground exits, locomotives and carriages on the lines, stations and landscapes. As indicated in the description above, the negatives are signed, and some photographs are dated. The photograph boards show some foxing, and two of them are weakened by a few tears and a missing corner. Some prints are faded. Jean Geiser is well known to anyone with an interest in Algeria. He arrived from his native Switzerland at the age of two, in 1850, with a solid educational background. At the root of his vocation was a certain Jean-Baptiste Antoine Alary, one of Algiers' first daguerreotypists and co-founder, with his mother, of the Alary & Geiser firm. He introduced the teenager to the secrets of photography and remained close to the Geiser family. For half a century, Jean Geiser photographed Algeria from every angle and on every subject, bringing back a wealth of photographic documents. A key witness of his time, the artist moved between town and country. It's worth emphasizing that he chose to portray, without prejudice, a singular and diverse population that best embodied the country's identity; He won't reduce his work to business-card-sized photos taken in the studio, which are an appreciable source of income; he won't be a reportage photographer on the lookout for the slightest event likely to feed sensationalist magazines; he will, in fact, be at the center of all these subjects and all these themes: towns, villages, countryside, people, events. He produced thousands of pictures, which were widely distributed in Europe thanks to postcards. Bibliography: Jean-Charles Humbert, Jean Geiser. Photographe-Editeur d'art, Alger, 1848-1923, Paris, Ibis Press, 2008.