Berlin: Ferd. Beyrich, circa 1861 - 1865. 6 loose folio cards, 34.8 x 42.5 cm., each with a mounted albumen print of varying sizes, from approximately 4 3/8 x 7 1/6 inches (11 x 18 cm.) to 8 3/8 x 9 5/8 inches (21.3 x 24.5 cm.). On the lower left corner of each plate is a printed label with a decorative border, which identifies the paper base, the photographer responsible for printing the image, his signature in ink, and Mr. Ferdinand Beyrich as the manufacturer. Additionally, 3 plates bear the artist's blindstamp while the other 3 are signed and/or titled by the artist. The card mounts show light dusting, while the photographic images are rich and of full tonal range, with slight surface scuffing. The blank reverse has remnants of a paper hinge, suggesting these might have once been bound in an album. All are housed in a contemporary oblong cloth clamshell box, which is decorated in gilt on the upper and lower covers and sides. Five of the photographs are of works of art, while one is from life. Fine. Item #53482

Ferdinand Beyrich (1812 - 1868) owned and operated a pharmacy in Berlin beginning in 1838. With the advent of photography in 1839, he quickly became proficient in the art and offered photographic materials and supplies for sale at his establishment. By 1861, he had branches in Vienna, Paris, London, Petersburg and New York, as well as representation with other retail suppliers. The manufacturing firm of Ferdinand Beyrich was instrumental in making Berlin the international center of the photographic trade. Additionally, he was regarded as one of the leading photographers and teachers, with Ottomar Anschütz and Max Petsch as students.

This portfolio of samples contains the following plates, all with labels in French:

Plate 1: Papier albuminé (Rives). By H. Hirsch, with his blindstamp; label signed.
Plate 2: Papier albuminé (Saxe). By Carl Suck, with his blindstsamp; label signed.
Plate 3: Papier albuminé rose (Rives). By Carl Wigand. Titled and signed in pencil; label signed.
Plate 4: Papier albuminé (Rives). By Carl Wigand. Titled and signed in pencil; label signed.
Plate 5: Papier albuminé (Rives). By Carl Wigand. Titled and signed in pencil; label signed.
Plate 6: Papier albuminé (Rives). By H. Hirsch, with his blindstamp; label signed.

The remnants of paper hinges suggest that these 6 albumen paper samples were once bound and possibly a portion of a larger group of samples produced by Fredinand Beyrich. However, an extensive search for any reference in either the printed literature on the history of photographic printing and photographic paper samples, and the online catalogues of world-wide institutional libraries, fails to locate any examples by the firm of Ferdinand Beyrich.

Price: $5,000.00