Souvenir du Caire

Paris, 1862. Folio. Engraved title, engraved list of plates and 20 chromolithographed plates, printed by Lemercier after Preziosi. Publisher's purple cloth, covers decorated in gilt and blind, expertly rebacked to style with dark purple cloth

First edition of lively lithographs by one of the best known of the artists living and working in the Levant in the mid-19th century.

The son of Count Gio Francois Preziosi of Malta, Amadeo initially studied the law before turning to painting. After studying under Giuseppe Hyzler, Preziosi subsequently completed his art education at the Paris Academy of Fine Arts. He moved to Constantinople in 1842, fell in love with the city, and was able to make a living painting the places and people that surrounded him. It is noted in the Atabey catalogue that "Preziosi was well-known .... His studio is mentioned in Murray's guidebooks for 1854 and 1871. By that time he had become an institution in the city... He produced views of the city, and genre and costume drawings" (The Ottoman World p.535). His paintings sold well to both the affluent local and the Grand Tourist, and his reputation was such that also served as a court painter to Sultan Abdul Hamid II. Preziosi visited Cairo in 1862 and the colourful views here depict street scenes and local inhabitants in the city and along the Nile.

Colas 2425; Blackmer 1352; Hilmy II, 135.