Finding Aid for Alary & Geiser Algerian Carte-de-visite Album, circa 1865
Beth Guynn
Descriptive Summary
Title: Alary & Geiser Algerian carte-de-visite album
Date (inclusive): circa 1865
Number: 91.R.6
Creator/Collector:
Alary & Geiser
Physical Description:
1 album(s)
(33 photographs)
Repository:
The Getty Research Institute
Special Collections
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles 90049-1688
Business Number: (310) 440-7390
Fax Number: (310) 440-7780
reference@getty.edu
URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10020/askref
(310) 440-7390
Abstract: The album containing 33
cartes-de-visite by Alary & Geiser documents the architecture and people of Algeria in
the 1860s.
Language: Collection material is in
French.
Biographical/Historical Note
Alary & Geiser was a photographic firm of long standing in Algiers. Lucien-Jacob Geiser
(1810-1852), was an ébéniste by trade, who immigrated to Algeria from Switzerland with his
wife Julie and three sons in 1850. The exact nature of the business Geiser père established
in Algiers is not known, nor is the nature of his involvement with photography. Yet at some
point after her husband's death Madame Geiser, who would have taken over the business, went
into partnership with Jean-Baptiste Antoine Alary (1810-approximately 1867), an early
daguerreotypist. Eventually the youngest Geiser son, Jean-Théophile (1848-1923), became
involved with the photography business, running it into the 1920s.
Sources consulted:
Jacobson, Ken. Odalisques & Arabesques: Orientalist Photography, 1839-1925. London:
Quaritch, 2009.
Administrative Information
Access
Open for use by qualified researchers.
Conditions Governing Use
Preferred Citation
Alary & Geiser Algerian carte-de-visite album, circa 1865, Getty Research Institute,
Research Library, Accession no. 91.R.6.
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa91r6
Acquisition Information
Acquired in 1991.
Processing History
Processed and cataloged by Beth Ann Guynn; finding aid encoded by Holly Larson with grant
funding from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) in 2009 and updated by
Guynn in 2020.
Digitized Material
The album was digitized by the repository in 2009 and the images are available online:
http://hdl.handle.net/10020/91r6
Scope and Content of Collection
The album of 33 cartes-de-visite by Alary & Geiser documents the architecture and
people of Algeria. Included are architectural interiors and exteriors, nomadic camps with
tents and camels, and images of a variety of peoples photographed both in the studio and in
more natural outdoor settings. Occupational portraits include laborers, a water porter,
Spahis (Algerian cavalry), a wall painter, merchants, and street vendors. The sitters of a
few male portraits are identified by title or status. Other portraits emphasize traditional
dress while tropes such as "odalisque" or "dancer," common to an objectified European male
gaze, are used to identify their female subjects.
The album is bound in dark green leather. Its brass clasps are missing, but the latches
remain on the fore edge. Titles are taken from the captions written below the
carte-de-visite window opening on most of the mounts.
Arrangement
Arranged in a single series: Series I. Alary & Geiser Algerian carte-de-visite album,
circa 1865.
Indexing Terms
Subjects - Topics
Vernacular architecture -- Algeria
Islamic architecture -- Algeria
Women -- Algeria
Subjects - Places
Algeria -- Description and travel
Genres and Forms of Material
Albumen prints -- Algeria -- 19th century
Studio portraits -- Algeria -- 19th century
Cartes-de-visite -- Algeria -- 19th century
Photograph albums -- Algeria -- 19th century
Contributors
Alary & Geiser
Series I.
Alary & Geiser Algerian carte-de-visite album,
circa 1865
Arrangement
In original order.
page 1 recto
91.R.6-1r
Intérieur d'une maison mauresque
page 1 verso
91.R.6-1v
Intérieur de la casbah / palais des beys (coup d'évantail)
Scope and Content Note
The caption is written upside down above the image.
page 2 recto
91.R.6-2r
Campement d'Arabes
Scope and Content Note
Shows a group of men sitting outside a striped tent.
page 2 verso
91.R.6-2v
Campement d'Arabes
Scope and Content Note
Shows camels and men seated in front of a large, dark tent. The caption is written
upside down above the image.
page 3 recto
91.R.6-3r
[Reclining Figure with Cigarette]
page 4 recto
91.R.6-4r
Intérieur d'un café arabe
Scope and Content Note
The photographer's imprint is visible on the border of the carte-de-visite: Alary
& Geiser, Phot.
page 4 verso
91.R.6-4v
Joueurs d'echecs
page 5 recto
91.R.6-5r
Jardin de Marengo et mosquée de Sidi Abder Rhaman
page 6 recto
91.R.6-6r
Porte neuve
Scope and Content Note
Title from carte-de-visite mount. The photographer's imprint is also visible on the
border of the carte-de-visite: Alary & Geiser, Phot. Written on mount below image:
Entrée de l'armée en 1830. The photograph depicts a gate at the base of the city walls
of Algiers.
page 6 verso
91.R.6-6v
[Group of Arabs outside a Door]
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N. 39.
page 7 recto
91.R.6-7r
Spahis
Scope and Content Note
Numbered in negative: N. 92. The photograph depicts a single mounted cavalryman.
page 7 verso
91.R.6-7v
Chasseur d'autruche
page 8 recto
91.R.6-8r
Marchand de charbons
page 9 recto
91.R.6-9r
Marchand tunisien
page 9 verso
91.R.6-9v
Peintre en bâtiments
page 10 verso
91.R.6-10v
Danseuse du désert
Scope and Content Note
Photographic reproduction of a painting.
page 12 recto
91.R.6-12r
Mauresque en tenue
page 12 verso
91.R.6-12v
Mauresque en tenue de ville
page 14 recto
91.R.6-14r
Danseuse
Scope and Content Note
Depicts a standing woman holding a scarf up to her head.
page 14 verso
91.R.6-14v
Danseuse
Scope and Content Note
Shows a standing woman holding a baton.
page 15 recto
91.R.6-15r
Négresse marchande de dattes
page 15 verso
91.R.6-15v
Groupe de Mauresques
page 16 recto
91.R.6-16r
Mauresque en négligée
page 16 verso
91.R.6-16v
Marchand arabe
page 17 recto
91.R.6-17r
Hagah de Millanah
page 17 verso
91.R.6-17v
Fils du Hagah de Millanah
page 18 recto
91.R.6-18r
Pacha de Mustapha (Prince)
Scope and Content Note
Photographer's partial blind stamp on verso of carte-de-visite: Alary & Geiser /
[Photographes] éditeurs / à Alger.
page 18 verso
91.R.6-18v
Officier de Spahis
Scope and Content Note
The mount is lacking the carte-de-visite.
