Central America photographs - Lot 262

Central America photographs [MEXICO - CENTRAL AMERICA PHOTOGRAPHS] A collection of approximately 77 late 19th-century albumen photographs of various views of Mexico, mounted on 31 large flexible boards. Views of various sites, campesinos, views of Mexico City, palaces and patios, churches, bullfighting scenes, Aztec art, view of Popocatapetl, view of Teotihuacan, animated Mexican villages, etc. Some of the prints are signed by A. BRIQUET in the print plates, others are not specifically mentioned. Medium format (20x26 cm), and a few 12x18 cm prints. All albumin prints. Some plates with captions. Abel Briquet (1833-1926), also known as Alfred Saint-Ange Briquet, is considered one of the first modern commercial photographers in Mexico. He began his photographic career in Mexico in the 1870s. He received a commission in 1876 to photograph Mexico's national railroads between Veracruz and Mexico City, and was financed by a commission from the Compagnie Maritime Transatlantique to photograph Mexican ports. He opened his own photo studio in 1885. Superb and rare set of late 19th-century prints.