Louis Rousselet – Two Albumen Prints Of India, N° 147/148, C. 1868

Louis Rousselet (France, 1845–1929) was a traveller, photographer and writer. Between 1864 and 1868 he undertook an extended journey to India; upon his return in 1868, he initiated an important publishing project with Goupil & Cie, entitled Voyage en Inde – M. L. Rousselet, comprising 160 photographic plates.

The photographs presented here correspond to numbers 147 and 148 of the series.

Photograph no. 147 depicts a historical and religious monument in the city of Lucknow (northern India), while photograph no. 148 represents the “Tomb of Emperor Togluck” in the city of Tughlaqabad, referred to by Rousselet as Tougluckabad.

Dimensions:

– Photograph no. 147: sheet 62.2 × 43.5 cm; photograph with caption 27.8 × 25 cm; image 21.2 × 16.3 cm.

– Photograph no. 148: sheet 63 × 45.1 cm; photograph with caption 27.8 × 25 cm; image 21 × 16.3 cm.

Both photographs feature a caption including the identification number, the title of the image, the name of the location, an English translation, and the signature of the photographer together with Goupil & Cie, one of the leading art dealers and publishers in 19th-century France.

The condition is good, with minor signs of wear consistent with age and use.

The works are albumen prints, one of the earliest photographic processes, which employed egg albumen to bind the photographic image to the paper, resulting in highly detailed images with warm tonal qualities.