10 photographs by the photographer Felix Bonfils. Eretz Israel, late 19th century.
Photographs: Hebron, Mount of Olives and Yad Absalom, Bethlehem, Solomon's Cave, Jerusalem - the station, Jerusalem - David's Citadel, Forty Martyrs building in Ramla, Mount Carmel, street in Jerusalem, Cave of the Patriarchs. All photographs are signed on the plate "Bonfils".
Felix Bonfils [1831-1885], greatest photographer of 19th century Eretz Israel. “What sets Bonfils’ work apart is the rare quality of the photographs. Even the most sterile landscape becomes a work of art through the uncompromising angle of the shot” [Early Photographs of Eretz Israel edited by Eli Shiller and Menachem Levine, p. 92]. In the introduction to the album ‘Souvenirs d’Orient’ (published in 1877 and was one of Bonfils’ most famous publications including hundreds of original photographs from Eretz Israel and the East), the president of the French Society of Literature and Science writes: "The photographs of F. Bonfils are among the greatest achievements of our generation... The man who took on a large-scale work did an invaluable service to science while taking countless risks and arduous labor ...".
Same size: 28x23 cm. Some mounted on stiff backing for preservation. Overall good condition.
