plate 3 from Egypte, Nubie, Palestine et Syrie: dessins photographiques receuillis pendant les années 1849, 1850 et 1851 (Paris, 1852), Blanquart-Evrard salt print from a paper negative, on the original folio mount, the series title, image title, plate number, and photographer's and publisher's credits in letterpress on the mount, matted, 1850

Christie's South Kensington, 4 April 1986, Sale MPH 1638, Lo🌼t 413 (the complete album)

Acquired by Thackrey & R🐻obertson, Sa♍n Francisco, from the above

This plate aꦛcq♕uired by the Quillan Company from the above, 1989

Jill Quasha, The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs (New York, 1991), pl. 18 (this print)

Other prints of this image:

Maria Morris Hambourg, Pierre Apraxine, et al., The Waking Dream: Photography's First Century: Selections from the Gilman Paper Company Collection (The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 🐲1991, in conj𒐪unction with the exhibition), p. 296

Pierre Apraxine, Anne de Mondenard, and Roger Therond, Une Passion Française: Photographies de la collection Roger Therond (Paris: Maison Européenne de la Photographie, 1999ℱ, in conjunction with the exhibition), p. 79 and 319 

André Jammes and Eugenia Parry Janis, The Art of the French Calotype (Princeton, 1983), pl. XLVI

Grading this salt print on a scale of 1 to 10 - 10 being a salt print that has deep brown dark tones and highlights that retain all of their original detail - this print rates 10. The print has lush purple tones, with real depth in the dark areas. There is a faint old 1 ½-inch crease in sky area, just above the buildings, that was either present in the print prior to being mounted, or occurred during mounting. The small dark spot in the lower left portion of the sky—visible in the catalogue illustration—appears to be a defect in the paper itself. Upon close examination in raking light, a faint indentation can be seen above the buildings on the right side. None of these issues detracts from the fine appearance of this rich and robust salt print. The mount is foxed, especially on the extremities, but this has not affected the print.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Taken by Maxime Du Camp in 1850, the photograph offered here depicts his good friend, the writer Gustave Flaubert, in Nubian dress, in the garden of the Hôtel du Nil.  The image was first published by Blanquart-Evrard in 1852, in the volume of 125 Du Camp photographs, Egypte, Nubie, Palestine et Syrie. 

Already an avid traveler in the 1840s, Du Camp made his first trip to Egypt in 1844.   After learning photography from Gustave Le Gray, he was commissioned by the Ministry of Public Education to produce documents of the architectural sites and monuments.  In order to bring along his friend Flaubert, Du Camp secured a writing assignment for him from the Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce.  The two enjoyed the local culture, immediately adopting the long flowing Nubian garments and wearing red tarboosh on their heads.  Although willing to assist Du Camp on occasion 🌜with his photographic preparations, Flaubert had adamantly refused to be photographed, save for this rare example. 

It appears that du Camp photographed Flaubert only twice during their journey.  In a letter to his mother, Flaubert, likely referring to the image offered here, wrote, '...I would never allow anyone to photograph me.  Max did it once, but I was in Nubian costume, standing, and seen from a considerable distance, in a garden' (Flaubert in Egypt: A Sensibility on Tour, p. 56).  Flaube🤪rt mentions another image in his accounts of the trip, but a negative or a print has yet to be located.

The photograph offered here was taken some seven years before Flaubert published Madame Bovary (1857), which, it has been suggested𒊎, takes its name from one of the proprietors 𝓀of the Hôtel du Nil, M. Bouvaret.