Organized tours to Egypt were introduced in the latter half of the nineteenth century, and tourists naturally wished to take home photographic souvenirs. With an eye to sales, photographers such as Félix Bonfils rarely looked for unconventional views. The supposedly ideal vantage points on countless historic sites were soon established, compelling if conventional compostions. In the case of the Pyramids at Giza, two such vantage points were soon discovered. One was a close up view of an edge of the lower pyramid, with tourists struggling to climb the enormous blocks. The other was an overall view from a distance with the Sphinx in the foreground, whose progressive excavation in the course of the century facilitates the dating of these photographs. This particular stereoview, whose market was the curious back home rather than the tourist, is firmly in the latter tradition.

Copyright 1896 by Underwood and Underwood.

Published by Strohmeyer and Wyman / Sold only by Underwood and Underwood.