Pernambuco

Recife: F. H. Carls, 1873. Folio. (14 x 18 inches). 53 chromolithographed plates of landscape and town views, port scenes, farms, public squares and private villas in the state of Pernambuco, northeast Brazil. Publisher's oblong red cloth portfolio with white moiré paper flaps, ruled in gilt and black with stamped corner pieces and title in gilt lettering. In modern quarter morocco box.

The best obtainable copy of Carls rare album of views of Pernambuco, Brazil.

First edition, one of the most beautiful works published about Pernambuco (Brazil), certainly the grandest work published in Recife, and containing 53 plates (usually found with no more than 36 plates) of this collection of chromolithographs illustrating community life in the Pernambuco region, here housed in the contemporary portfolio of red blindstamped cloth. "Carls foi sem dúvida o melhor artífice na gravura no Recife nos anos 1860 a 1880... Carls lancou em 1873 este notável álbum de Pernambuco com cinquenta gravuras, quando a técnica da cromolitografia já permitia a impressao a cores. O colorido e bastante teniue, o que contribuiu para o atrativo desta extensa serie de imagens que formam uma das reportagens visuais mais abrangentes realizadas no período sobre qualquer cidade brasileira." (Pedro Correa do Lago) Francisco Henrique Carls (born Franz Heinrich Carls) emigrated from Germany to Brazil in 1858 and established his lithographic studio there in the 1860s. He published this collection of chromolithographs first c.1873 (as here) and added other prints subsequently in later editions. The publication history of this album is interesting, and the plate counts found in Carls albums vary, sometimes with as few as 20. The present loose portfolio is a significantly larger collection; the largest to come on the market in modern times. "As gravuras variam de exemplar a exemplar, e o total de imagens diferentes pode ter chegado a quase oitenta se cotejados os exemplares conhecidos. Os maiores álbums, como o da Brasiliana Itaú, sao encadernados com cinquenta gravuras, mas também foram localizados otros que trazem apenas quince ou vinte." (Pedro Correa do Lago) The full list of plates is available upon request.

Brasiliana Itau, p.328.