The Great Pyramid and The Great Sphinx

Francis Frith British

Not on view

In 1856 Frith set out on the first of three trips to the Middle East, launching a highly successful career as a photographer and publisher of foreign topographic views. It is miraculous that he succeeded in making monumental and theatrical views such as this one, for the relatively new glass negatives required him to transport his enormous camera, sheets of glass, and bottles of chemicals through the desert and to coat, expose, and develop his plates before the collodion emulsion dried. "With the thermometer at 110° in my tent," wrote Frith, "the collodion actually boiled when poured upon the glass plate."

The Great Pyramid and The Great Sphinx, Francis Frith (British, Chesterfield, Derbyshire 1822–1898 Cannes, France), Albumen silver print from glass negative

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The Great Pyramid and The Great Sphinx, Francis Frith (British, Chesterfield, Derbyshire 1822–1898 Cannes, France), Albumen silver print from glass negative
The Great Pyramid and The Great Sphinx, Francis Frith (British, Chesterfield, Derbyshire 1822–1898 Cannes, France), Albumen silver print from glass negative

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