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Lot Essay
In this small daguerreotype taken near the Mosque of Qaitbay, he photographs what feels like an ordinary narrow Cairo street with the base of the minaret sealing off the end and completing the rather suffocating atmosphere. The typically overhanging windows of the old houses add to the claustrophobic feeling. The light walls would have made this photograph more possible than if the buildings had darker façades. The dark windows and patterned grilles set up a curious rhythm as they cut into the lighter walls and the hint of light blue sky in the corner adds a welcome breath of air to the street.
In the top left corner of this daguerreotype one can clearly see the rosette stamp which is common to all those of his plates on which any manufacturer's stamp can be detected. There are seven other small Cairo street scenes identified in the archive, one other with this same title. Each is of a different view.
In the top left corner of this daguerreotype one can clearly see the rosette stamp which is common to all those of his plates on which any manufacturer's stamp can be detected. There are seven other small Cairo street scenes identified in the archive, one other with this same title. Each is of a different view.