Giorgio Sommer View Of Vesuvius Erupting, Naples, Albumen Print, Dry Stamp, Circa 1870

An early albumen print by Giorgio Sommer (1834–1914), a German photographer who settled in Naples in 1856. The print depicts a view of Mount Vesuvius erupting from the Gulf of Naples. It bears the studio's blind stamp and catalogue number 1135, corresponding to the Neapolitan series published around 1868–1875.

The scene shows hand-touching characteristic of 19th-century photographic practices: highlights on the volcanic plume, and enhancement of silhouettes and maritime details. These retouching techniques, common in Sommer's views of Vesuvius, aimed to recreate the volcanic atmosphere that collodion negatives struggled to capture. Prints from this period are now among the most sought-after in his oeuvre.