Every now and then, we come across an item in our collection that turns out to be more interesting than it first seems. Cataloging a book can reveal that it's quite rare or perhaps even the only publicly available copy on this continent.
In the process of building the upcoming ABCFM online exhibit, I've been adding metadata to the images it will contain. When it came time to describe the photo postcard of Fred Field Goodsell (from the Blake-Goodsell collection), I noticed that there was an embossed logo in the lower righthand corner. (It's not very visible in the scanned version, but it's there.) Hoping that there might be some information about the company online, I typed the name into Google. Much to my surprise, the firm of Sebah & Joaillier is rather well-known for its 19th and early 20th century photographs of Turkey.
There is a collection of Sebah & Joailllier photographs at Princeton University with a guide containing lots of historical information about the firm itself. More information can be found on the History of Photography site, as well. The most interesting tidbit is that the studio was named the official photographer to the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, who commissioned images to be taken in Constantinople and across the realm around the turn of the 20th century. Having that same company take Mr. Goodsell's portrait and turn it into postcards must have been quite the status symbol.
Auction sites list original S & J photographs for about $50 each. We won't be selling ours, of course, since it's invaluable to us as part of the missionary family collection, but it's fun to know that it was produced by such a prestigious studio.
--Robin
Comments