Two albums of photographs of the construction of the Paris Opera, including one photograph of an artist's rendering of the completed grand staircase. All prints by Durandelle, except for one print by Charles Marville in Album B. It is the final print in Album B (36.1 x 27 cm).
Durandelle made these albums especially for the American architect George Browne Post during one of Post's visits to Europe, using images personally selected by Post. The albums reflect Post's particular interest in structural improvements in European architecture. Post, a highly influential architect, was the foremost proponent in America of the Beaux-Arts style; in New York he designed the Stock Exchange.
Several of the images in these albums were previously known only in the form of lithographs. [Pierre Apraxine]
