Artist: (VICTORIANA)

Title: A pair of Victorian-era photo albums with numerous elaborate hand-drawn decorative elements.

Description: The first British and featuring classic Victorian ink-drawn motifs such as shells, birds, equestrian and hunting imagery, and more, all intricately composed and delicately rendered on the page. The photographs are largely family portraiture, but the album also features an oval photograph of the English actress Lillie Langtry. With 75 pages and 149 albumen print portraits, the images measuring 5⅝x4 inches (14.3x10.2 cm.), and smaller, featured within the elaborate ink drawings. Folio, decorative gilt leather, lightly worn. 1860s-80s

The second album apparently by a woman named Mary Boswell, the first page featuring a portrait with her initials, the following pages family members as well as other imagery. Some of the pages with added decorative elements feature her signed initials and a date, but other pages appear unfinished. With 19 decorated pages and more than 50 albumen print portraits, the images measuring 5⅝x4 inches (14.3x10.2 cm.), and smaller, some pages mounted recto/verso, a few with collaged elements, three with watercolor, the rest ink; one with an image cut out; with interleafing pages. Large folio, green leather, worn. Circa 1872

Provenance: The Estate of Richard T. Rosenthal, Philadelphia

These beautiful Victorian albums feature highly skilled hand-drawn elements around the mounted albumen prints, both charming, elegant, and in some cases, humorous. The albumen prints, as expected, show some fading and areas of slight discoloration related to both the method of mounting, age, and handling. The drawings are all bright, with retained strength and consistency.

The first album evidences scattered foxing throughout the volume. This is at times quite faint and unobtrusive, and other pages (seemingly at random) show this issue more visibly. Both albums present otherwise just very faint soiling from handling, consistent with their age.

The bindings are lightly worn. The second album is starting slightly at the exterior and this is somewhat apparent internally as well.

Together, two charming examples of this practice, exhibiting creative practice and a thoughtful approach to keepsake and family imagery.

For a video of this lot please email Bridget Fay at bfay@swanngalleries.com


For inquiries or questions, please contact:
Deborah Rogal, Director: drogal@swanngalleries.com or ext. 55
Alice Le Campion: alecampion@swanngalleries.com or ext. 66
Bridget Fay: bfay@swanngalleries.com or ext. 64