Architectural views from 1855-1870, by photographers Carlo Ponti and Carlo Naya, of churches, palaces, and piazzas in Venice, Murano, Padova, and Pisa.

Well-known Italian photographer and optician of Swiss descent. After studying in Paris with the optician Chauchoix for ten years, Ponti returned to Italy, and set up a studio in Venice in the early 1850s, where he worked with assistants Giuseppe Bresolio, Fortunato Antonio Perini and Carlo Naya (1816-1882). The photo viewer he patented in 1859, the Megaletoscope, allowed users to see photographs "in color." He issued his first catalog--architectural views--in 1855, followed by the album, "Ricordi di Venezia," in 1860, which consisted of 20 views of Venice, individually selected by each customer. Ponti was later appointed photographer to King Victor Emmanuele II.

1 album (24 photographic prints) : albumen, 31 x 44 cm (album)

Photographs are mounted on rectos of leaves of stiff white paper, with printed captions on versos in French, or French and English. The two with bilingual captions also include printed numbers, probably Ponti studio stock numbers. Two photographs are untitled, while three have brief captions added in pencil or pen. Twenty-one leaves bear the embossed stamps "Carlo Ponti Venezia" or "Carlo Ponti. Riva dei Schiavoni. Venezia" while two bear the embossed stamp of Carlo Naya: "Naya. Riva Schiavoni. Venezia."

Bound in dark green sand-grained book cloth, with black sand-grained cloth spine and corners; light brown endpapers. Large illustrated bookplate of Oscar Browning on front pastedown, with motto "Labor, content ailleurs, theoria", designed by Simeon Solomon, dated 1870, and wood-engraved by Swain.

Spec. Coll. copy: In modern beige cloth clamshell box with velcro closure; box label reads "Ponti. Venice."

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