| Description: two vintage albumen prints by Felice Beato and Stillfried and Andersen of the Japan Photographic Association, Yokohama, printed in the late 1870s. Hand colored albumen prints, mounted to a white album board (one to each side).
Size: both prints 7 3/4 in x 9 5/8 in., mount board 9 1/4 x 11 3/4 in.
Condition: minstrels photo very good, while the kimono woman has minor fading. Additionally, the mount has some minor warping on the edges.
Felice Beato:
Beato was born on the Island of Corfu near Greece, which was then part of the British Empire. He began his career in 1850 and became one of the first photographers to specialize in Asia and the Near East. Early in his career he formed a partnership John Robertson and they photographed the Crimean War as well as Constantinople, Malta, Egypt and Palestine. In 1858 Beato went out on his own and traveled to India and China. By 1863 he settled in Yokohama where he formed a partnership with the artist Charles Wirgman. He remained in Japan until 1884, but by the early 1870s spent little time behind the camera. His studio F. Beato & Co. remained in business until January 23, 1877 when it was sold to Stillfried and Andersen. Beato left Japan in 1884 almost penniless, but he eventually opened another photo studio and curios business in Burma. He is thought to have died there in 1908.
Baron Raimund von Stillfried und Rathenitz:
Baron Raimund von Stillfried set up residence in Yokohama around 1868, and by 1871 had opened his first studio there. This was the firm of Messrs. Stillfried & Co., where he worked with the photographer William Willmann.
In 1874 he changed the name of his firm to the Japan Photographic Association (which would remain in operation under a succession of management until 1885). This led to the formation of a partnership with Hermann Andersen in 1875, with their firm being called Stillfried & Andersen, and the Japan Photographic Association. In January 1877 they purchased F. Beato & Co. of Yokohama, and moved into its premises at No. 17 Bund. This partnership was short lived and ended in June 1878. In the process the two seem to have fallen out of favor with one another. As a result, von Stillfried left the Japan Photographic Association while Andersen remained on until 1884. In doing so, Andersen continued to produce many of the photographs that today are commonly attributed to von Stillfried. |
