[BRAZIL – RIO DE JANEIRO]

[Historically Interesting Album with ca. 293 Original Gelatin Silver Photos of Rio de Janeiro].

Ca. 1930s.

Item #8937

Oblong Folio album ca. 25,5x33,5 cm (10x13 in). 22 card stock leaves with tissue guards. With ca. 293 original gelatin silver photos of various sizes (mostly mounted, three loosely inserted), from ca. 10,5x14 cm (4 x 5 ½ in) to ca. 4x5cm (1 ½ x 2 in), most photos are ca. 6,5x9 cm (2 ½ x 3 ½ in) or slightly larger. Several photos captioned in negative, otherwise no captions. Period brown full morocco album fastened with a string. Binding rubbed on extremities (front cover with minor splits), several leaves and tissue guards with minor tears, a couple of photos previously removed from the album, a few photos mildly faded or with mild silvering, but overall a very good album of strong interesting photos.

Extensive lively collection of over 290 original gelatin silver photos showing Rio de Janeiro and its people in the late 1930s. Apparently taken by a local resident, possibly of North American origin, the album contains over thirty vivid scenes of the Rio de Janeiro carnival, showing the participants parading, dancing and playing musical instruments on Avenida Atlantica and nearby streets (several buildings have visible street signs of Rua Duvivier). Among the carnival scenes are six large portraits of participants dressed in costumes, including young kids. The carnival scenes also show a group of participants standing next to the entrance of the Copacabana Palace Hotel (opened in 1923), and a street in Rio with dancing participants and “Hotel Avenida” in the background (Hotel “Avenida Central,” built in 1910 and demolished in 1957).
The other photos include Rio’s general and aerial views, pictures of Sugarloaf Mountain, Rio’s Atlantic beaches (Copacabana and others), Botafogo neighbourhood, the statue of Christ the Redeemer and Corcovado Mountain, tracks and cars of Corcovado Rack Railway, a real photo postcard of the Santos Dumont airport (inaugurated in 1936), numerous views of Rio’s streets, parks, markets, newly built residential buildings &c. Several street views feature Rio’s public transport, i.e. tram cars (one with the sign “No. 53, S. Januario”) and a bus “No. 11 – Tijuca-Ipanema.” There are also photos showing Edificio Mesbla (Rua do Passeio 42, built in 1934), private mansions (one with the sign “Edificio Santos”), the exterior and interior of a railway station, an art-deco building with British and Brazilian flags, &c. Over twenty photos depict the compiler’s ride on the Sugarloaf Cable Car, showing the ground station, nearby General Tiburcio Square and the Monument to the Heroes of Laguna and Dourados (inaugurated in 1938), cable cars and steel cables, views of Rio taken from the cable car and the top of the Sugarloaf Mountain.
There are also over seventy private photos showing the compiler’s family and friends, strolling down streets and posing at different locations, playing beach volleyball and tennis, swimming, celebrating a wedding, drinking beer, &c. Several lively photos portray Rio’s street vendors. The album also contains an early photo of a bottle of Brazil’s “Brahma Chopp” beer. “Brahma,” one of Brazil’s leading beer companies, was founded in 1888 and produced its first beer brand in 1914. The company’s “Brahma Chopp” brand of pale lager was introduced in 1934 and is still one of Brazil’s best-selling beers. Overall an extensive collection of lively photos of Rio de Janeiro and its people shortly before WW2.

Price: $2,750.00

Status: On Hold