Bey Mohammad Sadiq (2 results)

2 albumen prints, 127 x 173 and 165 x 235 mm. Manuscript captions in Arabic and French on the reverse. Some of the earliest photographs of the Hajj produced in the 1880s by Mohammad Sadiq Bey, a pioneer of photography of the holy sites of Islam in Arabia. The present set includes a shot of the crowded Meccan sanctuary during prayer around the Kaaba, along with a city view of Medina, featuring the Prophet's Mosque with its Green Dome. - Muhammad Sadiq Bey (1822/32-1902) was an Ottoman Egyptian army engineer and surveyor who served as treasurer of the Hajj pilgrim caravan. As a photographer and author, he documented the holy sites of Islam at Mecca and Medina, taking the first ever photographs in what is now Saudi Arabia. Bey was also the first to document the Hajj realistically on camera. - Warped; slightly sunned. Traces of former mounting to reverse. - Removed from the collection of François Lepage in Paris. Starting in the 1960s, Lepage was one of a handful of dealers gathering up 19th century photographs from flea markets and auctions in Paris, and his collection reached back to the very earliest period in the development of the medium.

8 albumen prints. Various sizes, 151 x 178 - 153 x 203 mm. 4 of the photographs captioned in Arabic and/or signed in the negative. Mounted on cardboard (248 x 298 mm). Stamped in blue. Some of the earliest photographs of Mecca and the Kaaba, including panoramic views produced in the 1880s by Abd al-Ghaffar and Mohammad Sadiq Bey, pioneers of photography of the holy sites of Islam in Arabia. - Abd al-Ghaffar was the first resident of Mecca to photograph the holy sites among which he lived and worked, producing some of the earliest photographs of the Kaaba and the sights of the Hajj. Muhammad Sadiq Bey (1822/32-1902) was an Ottoman Egyptian army engineer and surveyor who served as treasurer of the Hajj pilgrim caravan. As a photographer and author, he documented the holy sites of Islam at Mecca and Medina, taking the first ever photographs in what is now Saudi Arabia. Bey was also the first to document the Hajj realistically on camera. - The present set includes the middle section of Bey's larger panoramic view of Mecca produced in 1880, this detail showing the Kaaba and Mataf area with apartment complexes in the background. It further comprises two photographs by Abdullatif Fida, including a shot of the Mataf area featuring Bab Bani Shaybah, one of the original entrances into the Masjid al-Haram precinct, a free-standing arch demolished in 1967. The remaining (unsigned) images show another view of Mecca, a rare image of the Mahmal transported aboard a railway carriage, and two impressive close-ups of the Ka'aba surrounded by pilgrims. One of these is held by the Library of Congress, dating it around 1910. - Cardboard backing somewhat worn, occasional waterstains. The images proper in fine condition; a single specimen slightly faded. A rare ensemble.