This is a nice Late 19th Century Half-Red Leather Photo Portrait Album of Titans of Literature, Music, and History (65+ Portraits, Inc. Large Formats & Loose Photos)

An exceptional, beautifully preserved late 19th-century portrait album meticulously curated to celebrate the greatest figures of Western civilization. Bound in rich half-red leather with a pebble-textured body, this substantial volume measures 32.5 cm tall and weighs nearly 3 kilograms. The internal leaves are composed of heavyweight, thick card stock with gilded accents, typical of high-end deluxe albums of the Victorian era.

This album stands out for its elegant curation. Almost every historical portrait is meticulously identified by hand using a beautiful, consistent calligraphic black ink script that includes the subject's name and lifespan. The contents primarily showcase monumental literary figures, classical composers, and world-class fine artists across several European schools, along with select political and royal leaders.

PHOTO FORMALITIES & SIZES:

- Small Portraits: The vast majority measure approximately 8 cm x 5.5 cm, beautifully grouped on multi-photo pages.

- Large Solo Portraits: Features several stunning, larger-format standalone portrait prints measuring approximately 12.5 cm x 9.5 cm. Each occupies its own individual leaf as a spectacular centrepiece.

- Loose Portraits: The collection concludes with a fascinating set of 6 loosely inserted small photos expanding the collection.

COMPLETE CATALOG OF IDENTIFIED SITTERS:

1. TITANS OF MUSIC & ART (The Classical & Baroque Masters):

Fra Angelico, Johann Sebastian Bach, Fra Bartolomeo, Giovanni Bellini, Ludwig van Beethoven, Agostino Carracci, Annibale Carracci, Benvenuto Cellini, Cimabue, Cigoli (Lodovico Cardi), Antonio Canova, Carlo Dolci, Gaetano Donizetti, Vincenzo Bellini, Albert Dürer, Anthony van Dyck, Eugène Delacroix, Paul Delaroche, Domenichino, Giambologna, Giorgione, Christoph Willibald Gluck, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Guercino, George Frideric Handel, Joseph Haydn, Angelica Kauffman, Wilhelm von Kaulbach (Large Solo), Charles Le Brun, Franz Liszt, Felix Mendelssohn, Giacomo Meyerbeer, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Nicolas Poussin, Pietro Perugino, Guido Reni, Leopoldo Robert, Salvator Rosa, Peter Paul Rubens, Il Sassoferrato, Rembrandt van Rijn, Franz Schubert, David Teniers the Younger, Bertel Thorvaldsen, Tintoretto, Torquato Tasso, Carl Maria von Weber, Richard Wagner, Horace Vernet, Antoine Wiertz, Diego Velázquez.

2. MONUMENTAL AUTHORS, PHILOSOPHERS, & POETS:

Joseph Addison (Large Solo), Peter Abelard, Vittorio Alfieri, Pietro Aretino, Pierre-Jean de Béranger, Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, Georges-Louis Leclerc (Comte de Buffon), Robert Burns (Large Solo), Lord Byron (Large Solo), François-René de Chateaubriand, André Chénier, Geoffrey Chaucer (Large Solo), Pierre Corneille, Georges Cuvier, Dante Alighieri, Charles Dickens, John Dryden (Large Solo), Alexandre Dumas, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Oliver Goldsmith (Large Solo), Wilhelm von Humboldt, Jean de La Bruyère, Jean de La Fontaine, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Large Solo), Niccolò Machiavelli, John Milton (Large Solo), Thomas Moore (Large Solo), Blaise Pascal, Petrarch, Alexander Pope (Large Solo), Jean Racine, Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, Friedrich Schiller, William Shakespeare (Large Solo), Richard Brinsley Sheridan (Large Solo), Sir Walter Scott (Large Solo), Alfred, Lord Tennyson (Large Solo), Voltaire.

3. ROYALTY, HEROES, & HISTORICAL STATE LEADERS:

Charlotte Corday, Christopher Columbus, Benjamin Franklin, Galileo Galilei, Joan of Arc, Jeanne Hachette, Sir Isaac Newton, Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Adolphe Thiers, Maximilien Robespierre, Joachim Murat, Giuseppe Mazzini.

Plus an exquisite French Royal Court Page featuring: Marie Antoinette, Louis XVI, Madame de Pompadour, Agnès Sorel, Madame du Barry, Maria Theresa of Austria, the Duchess of Berry, Princess Élisabeth of France, Napoleon III, Empress Eugénie, Maximilian I of Mexico, Empress Carlota of Mexico, Louise de La Vallière, Marguerite de la Sablière, and Élie du Châtelet.

 CONDITION REPORT:

The binding shows heavy surface rubbing wear to the leather with scrapes and scuffs, a split to the leather at the base of the spine else the binding remains in good solid condition. Internally all the used pages are pictured so condition can be seen, one of the portraits (pictured) is damaged with noticeable loss, the six loose portraits have some creasing wear to the thin photographic paper. An extraordinary collection perfect for dealers, book historians, or autograph/portrait collectors.

PLEASE NOTE THE BOOK IS LARGE AND HEAVY, NEARLY 3.5 KILOS PACKED

ALL ITEMS WILL BE WELL PACKED FOR SAFE SHIPPING