‎ALCANTARA , le Comte Alexandre Achille Octave d' - ( 1825 - 1908 ) - [ ] Comte de VILLERMONT :‎
‎Armée Pontificale 1867 . Principaux champs de Bataille photographiés pour être vendus au profit de bonnes oeuvres par le Cte. Ale. d'Alcantara. Commandant Officier et Chevalier de plusierus ordres.‎

‎" S.l. ( Ghent - Brussels ?), private edition by Count Alexandre D' Alcantara , 1867, in-folio album, format oblong, 41,5 x 54 cm, lithographed title page + 10 original photographs + 10 text pages + 9 blank leaves (serving as serpente). The photographs ( albumen prints) are mounted on thick album leaves, within an elaborate border, with hand coloured decoration and heightened with gold. The text leaves are printed in lithography ; blue lettering on grey toned paper, heightened in gold and with one of the fillets in gold. Bound in publisher's red half morocco with red calico boards with the title in large gilt lettering together with the papal coat of arms, all edges gilt. The album shows minimal wear and a few tiny spots but is on the whole very finely preserved, the photographs still retain their original sharpness. This album documents the last victory of the Papal Zouaves ( Zuavi Pontifici ) against Garibaldi's troops in the wars of Italian independance. On the 3rd November 1867 the Zouaves had their last victory at Mentana. The album has, apart from Mentana, also pictures of Monte Libretti , Nerola , Monte Rotondo, Ponte Salaro (blown up by the Zouaves), Camp Rocca di Papa and portraits of Zouave uniforms. There is no indication as whom might be the photographer. Count d'Alcantara states in the introduction that most of the text was supplied by Comte de Villermont. The last two text pages contains a list of the wounded and those killed in action, among them Carles (sic) d'Alcantara. The author and also Comte de Villermont were fierce partisans of 19th c. Ultramontanism . This mouvement had some adherence in Flanders and The Netherlands. Both regions supplied together with France the bulk of the Zouave troops. This album , an early testimony of the use of photography in documentation, is very rare. We could only locate one other copy via OCLC ( in the Brussels' Royal Library). Its production, in this lavish style, must have been very expensive. How this came together with the charity intentions of the publisher remains unsolved. Perhaps this album is one of the few luxurious copies for an important person or a collaborator."‎

Reference : 44104

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