FIRST EDITION, folio (437 x 298mm.), PRESENTATION COPY, INSCRIBED on the title in pencil 'a Monsieur Darricau, hommage de respect et de reconnaissance, Alex Bida', engraved title printed in bistre with list of plates and mounted SALTED PAPER PRINT (62 x 124mm.), 12 SALTED PAPER PRINTS (from 185 x 140mm. to 228 x 180mm., or the reverse) each mounted on card with small oval blindstamp of Bertsch and Arnaud, plate 9 slightly shorter, tissue guards, contemporary red morocco-backed red cloth gilt, upper cover titled in gilt 'ALBUM BIDA', flat spine gilt, marbled endpapers, slight spotting, binding slightly rubbed and marked

Charles Darricau (1808-1868), presentation inscription

Not traced in bibliographies or WorldCat

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

A VERY RARE EARLY PHOTOBOOK OF ORIENTALIST SUBJECTS. Alexandre Bida (1813-1895) was an Orientalist painter who had studied under Eugène Delacroix; he travelled and sketched in Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon, and Palestine, and later exhibited his work in various Paris exhibitions between 1847 and 1861. This copy was presented by Bida to Charles Darricau (1808-1868) conseiller d'état, whose portrait by Bida was exhibited in Paris in 1855.

The photographer Auguste Nicolas Bertsch (1813-1870) was a founder member of the Société française de photographie in 1854, in which year he set up a photographic workshop with Camille d'Arnaud, former editor of L'Artiste and a friend of Nadar. The present work may be their first photobook. They produced photographs for at least two further books: Les vierges de Lesbos (1858) and L'Enfer de Dante Alighieri (1869). The 12 subjects in this work are titled: Le Dosséh; Le Retour de la Mecque; Chanteurs Arabes; Jouers d'Echecs; Sentinelle Egyptienne; Le Kief (Arménien); Femme Féllah; Le Barbier; Le Magreb (Prière); Anier buvant; Grec et Arménien; and Marchand Arménien.