Lot 24: Louis De Clercq , 1836-1901 'djebaïl. soubassements phéniciens'

a plate from Voyage en Orient, Vol. I: Villes, Monuments et Vues Pittoresques de Syrie (Paris, 1860), albumen print from a paper negative, numbered '24' by the photographer in the negative, on the original oblong folio mount, the title and photographer's decorative monogram in letterpress on the mount, matted, framed, 1859

measurements note 8 5/8 by 10 7/8 in. (21.9 by 27.6 cm.)

Jill Quasha, The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs (New York, 1991), pl. 41 (this print)Another print of this image:Louis De Clercq (Stuttgart: Mayer & Mayer Gallery, 1989, in conjunction with the exhibition), unpaginated, and p. 89, pl. 24

Thackrey & Robertson, San FranciscoAcquired by Jill Quasha, New York, from the above, 1988Acquired by the Quillan Company from the above, 1989

Voyage en Orient Villes, Monuments et Vues pittoresques de Syrie The present photograph shows the massive stone foundation of a structure from ancient Phoenicia. De Clercq has monumentalized the edifice by photographing it at close range, filling nearly the entire frame. This very modern approach to composition and vantage point is characteristic of de Clercq's best work. Of the fifty copies of Voyage en Orient originally published, only six complete sets have been located in institutional collections.