[Photo Album] Napoli Museo Nazionale Statue: 44 original prints of cityscapes and statues, including landscape views of Mount Vesuvius and Baia, circa 1870s-1890

Oblong portfolio. Measuring 17" x 12 ¾". Bound in half leather and dark blue cloth over boards, leather corners, title stamped in gold on the front board, interior flaps decorated with illuminated paper. The portfolio is fair only, with soiling and scattered tears to the edges, the leather spine back is worn away. Contains 44 albumen silver prints measuring about 10" x 8", all neatly mounted on board (16 ½" x 12") with manuscript captions neatly written in a calligraphic script in ink underneath each mounted print. The prints are in very good condition overall, with some soiling and scattered chips to the edges of the boards. A large portfolio of selected Fratelli Alinari prints. Founded in the mid-1850s, the three Alinari brothers set out to photograph all of the important Italian works of art in painting, architecture, and sculpture. Once their reputation was established among art collectors and historians, the brothers photographed Italian landscapes, towns, and cityscapes. This portfolio contains 5 prints of architectural landmarks at Naples (including the Museo Nazionale, Castello dell’ovo, Piazza e Colonna dei Martiri, and Palazzo Reale), and over 30 images of important sculptures. Also included in this portfolio are three prints of Mount Vesuvius (showing the eruption of 1872, eruption of "Torre del Greco", and "Cratere del 1890"); two prints of Baia, one of which is tinted in color (Lago Lucerino, and Lago d’Averno, Tempio d’Apollo); and one print of an artwork at Rome ("Bellivant: La Castita di Giuseppe"). In addition to the Alinari studio captions in the print, the original owner of this portfolio must have commissioned a professional calligrapher to add custom written captions underneath each print. A unique collection of images in the original portfolio.…