**Originally Listed At $400**

Abdullah Freres (Ottoman of Armenian descent, active 1860s to 1890s). "Marchands de Simites" in Turkey, albumen print, ca. 1879; Zangaki Brothers (Greek, active in Ottoman Egypt, 1860s to 1890s). Egyptians using Shadouf, albumen print, ca. 1878; Anonymous photographer. Moroccan Water Man, albumen print, ca. 1890. A special trio of 19th century photographs presenting scenes of everyday life during the Ottoman Empire and created for tourists visiting Egypt, Turkey, and Morocco as part of their Grand Tour. The Abdullah Brothers' photograph depicts a group of Constantinople merchants selling Simit - a traditional Turkish circular bread encrusted with flax, poppy, or sunflower seeds. The Zangaki Brothers' photograph depicts Egyptian men using a shadoof, a crane-like irrigation tool that has existed since ca. 3000 BCE, to raise water from the Nile River with an informative inscription describing their process below the image. Finally, a charming portrait of a water carrier in Tangier, Morocco by an unknown photographer. Size of Zangaki image: 8.7" L x 10.875" W (22.1 cm x 27.6 cm) Size of sheet: 11.4" L x 14.7" W (29 cm x 37.3 cm) Size of matte: 14" L x 18" W (35.6 cm x 45.7 cm)

The Abdullah Brothers - including Vicen Abdullahyan (1820-1902), Hovsep Abdullahyan (1830-1908), and Kevork Abdullahyan (1839-1918) - achieved international fame by taking portraits of notable Ottoman sultans and other individuals as well as scenic views and genre scenes of the Ottoman Empire. American writer Mark Twain and his fellow travelers aboard the USS Quaker City steamship had their photos taken by Abdullah Freres, the official photographers to the Sultan of Turkey, Abdul-Aziz when they visited Constantinople in September of 1867.

According to art historian John Hannavy, the Zangaki brothers (whose first names were probably George and Constantine according to scholars) "produced some of the finest images" of late 19th century Egypt. Historians and collectors continue to covet their photos of life during the late Ottoman Empire.

These photographs were in the collection of pioneering patron of the arts, Ginny Williams. Sotheby's hosted a series of auctions featuring art and photography in the Ginny Williams Collection in June and July of 2020. Their press release began as follows, "Born in rural Virginia in 1927, Ginny moved to Denver, Colorado in the late 1950s with her husband, Carl Williams. An avid photographer herself, who studied with Austrian-American photojournalist and photographer Ernst Haas, her collecting journey began with classical figurative photography. Her passion and keen eye eventually prompted her to open her namesake gallery in Denver in the 1980s. While her passion for photography never waned, remaining a primary focus of both her gallery and private collection, her voracious curiosity quickly widened her curatorial focus. Over time, Ginny became increasingly courageous and experimental in her selections, venturing into Abstract Expressionism and Contemporary Art and following her artists themselves through gallery shows and museum exhibitions. As the years passed, Ginny became as much of a trailblazer as the artists she collected."

Provenance: private Idledale, Colorado, USA collection; ex-Ginny Williams collection of Denver, Colorado

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#171280

Each photo is set in a matte that lifts to reveal the entire sheet. Each matte has a collection label identifying the photo. All have Ginny Williams Collection labels on versos of the mattes. Morocco Water Carrier has an inscription describing the subject on the verso. Abdullah Freres photo has Oakland Public Library stamps on lower left and verso. The Zangaki Brothers photo is inscribed in the negative - "Zangaki" on lower left and "No. 630 Chadoufs de la Haute Egypte" on the lower right - and also has a handwritten description of the irrigation process depicted below the image. All photos show expected age wear with varying degrees of toning, foxing, creases, and losses to peripheries. Mattes are intact with slight age wear.