Classic Travel Photographs results
Sotheby’s continued their earlier calendar of photography auctions with an auction of affordable prints centred around the theme of travel. Taking place in London, the Classic Travel Photographs auction saw 74 photographs up for sale with estimates ranging from as little as £400 to £1,800. Many lots far outperformed their top estimates and eventually brought in a sales total of £132,867.
Running from 11th-25th March, the auction was billed as a showcase of ‘classic travel photography from the mid-19th – to the early 20th-century, with works by leading photographers of the period, notably Peter H. Emerson, Francis Frith, John Burke, William Saunders, Roger Fenton, and Gustave Le Gray.’ Lots were listed alphabetically by country, with landscape shots of Egypt, India, England, Brazil, Turkey, China etc.
The highest hammer price went to Francis Frith’s Pyramid at Dashur from the southwest, believed to have been taken around 1858. The initial estimate was for £7,000-£8,000, but brought in an impressive £21,420. Frith also the second highest priced lot with Pyramids of El-Geezah selling for £18,900 after an estimate of £1,500-£2,000. Finally, Robert Murray rounded out the top three with Temple of Abou Simbel thought to have been taken in the 1850s with an estimate of £2,000 to £3,000 and gaining a sales price of £10,710.
See all the results at Sotheby’s specialised page here, or click the image titles to view each individual photograph. Keep up-to-date with upcoming auctions by viewing the current spring auction calendar.
image credit: norwood