Description: nice action photo showing two sumo wrestlers in a match. Taken by the famous Beato, ca. 1868, but this print was made in the 1870s by the firm of Stillfried and Andersen who purchased Beato 's studio and stock in 1877. Condition: very good, unmounted.

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.