VITTORIO SELLA. Bourcet Peak (Dauphiny), c. 1879-1892, Sella number 147/494. 15x11.1" collodion print, printed c. 1893, mounted on 17.3x13.6" heavy brown board. Inscribed in ink on mount recto: Alps / Bourcet Peak (Dauphiny). Print embossed with Vittoria Sella stamp. Inscribed in pencil on mount verso: AI 147/494; round paper label inscribed in ink: gift of / Miss Anna H. Chase.

Vittorio Sella's groundbreaking works of art from the Alps, the Caucasus, Africa, Alaska, and the Himalayas influenced Victorian aesthetics, and furthered scientific studies in the fields of anthropology, cartography, meteorology, and botany, and currently are used extensively in studies of glacial retreat.

Although small in stature (only 5 foot 6 inches, today he would be considered an elite athlete) Sella possessed tremendous strength and endurance. He carried heavy, large-format cameras and glass plates, scaled treacherous slopes, worked in challenging weather conditions, and endured storage conditions that sometimes ruined his negatives. He made photographs with both stereoscopic and handheld Kodak cameras, afterward enlarging his prints by various means. His masterful compositions of sublime peaks captured crisp details and the vast array of tonal ranges enhanced by high-altitude light and shadow. His most celebrated works are large, multi-plate panoramas.

This sale of lots from this auction will directly benefit the Appalachian Mountain Club Trails Protection Fund; Conservation Research and Climate Action; and the Modernization and Preservation of the AMC Library and Archives.

Good: Cluster of black dots in upper R corner of print; multiple small brown bits stuck to lower quarter of print; print somewhat dirty. Mount has dirt edge and corner wear and deterioration.