1. VITTORIO SELLA. La Meije, La Grande Ruine & Pic Gaspard from Glacier Blanc of Les Ecrins 12,792 ft., c. 1879-1892, Sella number AI 512. 11.2x15.4" collodion print, printed c. 1893, mounted on 13x16.6" heavy gray board. Inscribed in ink on mount recto: Alps / La Meije, Pic Gaspard, etc., from Glacier Blanc of Les Ecrins at nearly 12792 feet / I 512. Print recto embossed with artist's credit stamp in bottom right corner; inscribed in ink: 512. Inscribed in pencil on mount verso: A-I/512.

2. VITTORIO SELLA. Pelvoux, Monte Viso, c. 1879-1892 Sella number AI 513. 11.3x15.3" collodion print, printed c. 1893, mounted on 12.3x16.5" brown board. Inscribed in ink on mount recto: 513. Pelvoux, Monte Viso, etc.; inscribed in blue pencil: AI. Print recto embossed with artist's credit stamp in bottom right corner. Stamped in ink on mount verso: Depose / Tous Droits Reserves / V. Sella - Biella.

3. VITTORIO SELLA. Aile Froide, Pic Sans Nom, Les Bans, c. 1879-1892, Sella number AI 514. 11.3x15.2" collodion print, printed c. 1893, mounted on 13x16.6" heavy gray board. Inscribed in ink on mount recto: Alps / Aile Froide, Pic sans nom, Les Bans; inscribed in pencil: I 514. Print recto embossed with artist's credit stamp in bottom right corner; inscribed in ink: 514. Inscribed in pencil on mount verso: A-I/514.

The rhythm and form of glaciers spreading from and up mountain peaks, forming rivers and bowls around and up to the highest peaks were a compelling composition for Vittorio Sella.

La Meije is 3,984 m 13,071 feet with a prominence of 2,694 ft.; it is a mountain in the Massif des écrins range, located at the border of the Hautes-Alpes and Isère départements. It overlooks the nearby village of La Grave, a mountaineering centre and ski resort, well known for its off-site and extreme skiing possibilities; and also dominates the view west of the Col du Lautaret. It is the second highest mountain of the écrins after the Barre des écrins.

Pic Gaspard 3, 883 m 12, 740 feet
La Grande Ruine is 3,754 m 12,316 feet.
Mount Pelvous is 3,946 m 12,946 ft.
Ailefroide is 3,954 m 12, 972 feet.
Pic sans nom is 3,913 m 12,838 ft.
Les Bans is 3,669 m 12,037 ft.

Vittorio Sella was born in 1859 into a wealthy, politically influential family in the Piedmont town of Biella, Italy. As a boy his classical studies included Greek and Latin along with painting lessons, in which he excelled. He was introduced to the recently invented art of photography by his father, a textile mill owner named Venanzio Giuseppe Sella and his uncle, Quintino Sella, a famous Italian minister of finance, both of whom were enthusiasts of the new art. In 1856, Venanzio published a treatise on photography that was translated into German and French and was included in Roret's Encyclopedic. Quintino Sella not only founded the still-active Italian Alpine Club, but also took his young nephew hiking through the Alps as he taught him to love the mountains.

Along with being a mountaineer and photographer, Sella was also an energetic businessman. In 1886 he formed a bank, Gaudenzio Sella & Co., with three of his brothers and three cousins (as of 1999, "The Sella Group"). In 1899 he and his family started a modern viticulture program (vineyard) in Sardinia, known today as "Sella & Mosca". His other business venture was the distribution, exhibition, and sale of his mountain views. Like other large format photographers of the time - William Henry Jackson, Carleton Watkins, Bisson Freres, Roger Fenton, the Alinari Brothers, and Samuel Bourne - Sella produced a catalog of mountaineering photographs that numbered 100 views in 1882. By 1888 that number had grown to 534. Sella had a field and studio assistant named Emile Bota. He preferred to manage his own distribution. Later he worked with Spooners in London from 1882 to 1917 and when Spooner died, he moved his work to Sifton Praed. His photographs were exhibited widely in climbing, geographical, and exploration clubs and societies throughout Eurasia and North America. In the United States, the Appalachian Mountain sets were shown at over 100 venues in the 1890s and 1900s.

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.

1. Very Good: Moderate wear, dirt, some spots rubs; accretion on middle L edge; Mount worn and dirty.

2. Good to Fair: Moderate wear, dirt, corner wear, marks and streaks on survace;1/2" tear in print on top L edge; 2 parallel 10" lines down L side of print; 2 1/4" tears on L edge of print; bubbles under print in lower R quadrant; 1 1/2" scratch on lower R quadrant of print. Mount is worn and dirty with edge and corner wear.

3. Fair: 514 on lower L corner; 3x1/8" black smear on lower L edge; 1/2x1" black smear on lower L quadrant; and numerous bubbles under print in lower R and upper R quadrants; 5" black line on upper R quadrant; print somewhat dirty, R edge particularly dirty.