Emille Gsell Sold at Auction Prices

Cambodia: View of Phnom Penh

Photographer: probably Emile Gsell (1838 - 1879). View of Phnom Penh at the bay of Tonle Sap river; View of part of Saigon. Circa 1866/1870s. 2 albumen prints. 21 x 32,3 cm. First print mounted to board (slight traces of use and soiled), annotated in blue crayon below the image on the mount. The French photographer Emile Gsell worked in southeast Asia and was the first photographer to be based in Saigon. He participated in at least three scientific expeditions and his images of Angkor Wat are some of the earliest of that site. Under pressure of the French, King Norodon I moved his government's seat from Udom to Phnom Penh. This rare view was probably taken shortly after this move in 1866, as it still shows a simple settlement of bamboo huts with the famous Wat Phnom Pagoda in the background from which the town takes its name. After the move of the King the French began to rebuild the city and took Phnom Phenh as the seat of colonial administration. - First print with a few light surface scuff marks, slight stain in upper left corner, second print buckled and traces of previous mounting on the verso, otherwise rich dark prints in very good condition.

Photographs: Emile Gsell (1838-1879)

Photographs: Emile Gsell (1838-1879) Angkor, c. 1866. Temple d'Angkor Vat. Enceintes. Vues des temples (Prasat Kravan, Bayon...). Ruines. Portes. Bas reliefs. Porfolio en tissu, contenant 92 épreuves...

Gsell, Emile: Studio portrait of a young Tonkin woman

Gsell, Emile: Studio portrait of a young Tonkin woman Studio portrait of a young Tonkin woman. 1868 - 1873. Albumen print. 28,8 x 22,5 cm. Number 707 in lower right corner in the negative, mounted in archival mat with rounded corners. The French photographer Emile Gsell worked in Southeast Asia and was the first photographer to be based in Saigon. He participated in at least three scientific expeditions and his images of Angkor Wat are some of the earliest of that site. He also took many portraits of natives and the image offered here is one of his most poetic portraits. The woman wears an Áo dài costume and has a traditional hat at her side, common for north Vietnamese women. - Slightly faded, otherwise in very good condition.

ANGKOR WAT, CAMBODIA Two views of Angkor Wat ruins, possibly by Emile Gsell

Two views of Angkor Wat ruins, possibly by Emile Gsell, albumen prints, mounted, one numbered 8 in negative, captioned 'Ruines d'Angkor (Cambodge)' in ink on mount, images 110 x 90mm., 1860s (2)

Albums and Photographs

INDOCHINA Three street scenes by Emile Gsell, 1866-1878 Albumen prints, 2 partially numbered in negative, 2 with pencilled annotation on verso (3) images approximately 165 x 220mm.

Albums and Photographs

INDOCHINA Native portrait by Emile Gsell, 1866-1878 Albumen print, mounted image 225 x 160mm.

Albums and Photographs

INDOCHINA Native portrait by Emile Gsell, 1866-1878 Albumen prints, mounted, numbered 105 in negative image 215 x 160mm.

Albums and Photographs

INDOCHINA Native portrait by Emile Gsell, 1866-1878 Albumen print image 265 x 205mm.

Emile GSELL (1838-1879) Ruines d''Ang-khor, circa 1865 Tirage sur papier albuminé monté sur carton

Emile GSELL (1838-1879) Annamite et Main d''annamite, circa 1865-1870 Deux tirages sur papier albuminé dont un monté sur carton

EMILE GSELL (1838-1879)

An album of mounted albumen prints, titled Monuments Khmers on spine and upper cover. [Vietnam?: circa 1866-1873]. Oblong 2° (293 x 487mm). 94 mounted albumen print photographs (from 94 x 56mm to 248 x 319mm), mounted on the recto of 34 leaves, 15 photographs signed in the negative 'E Gsell' and numbered, nine others numbered. (Some fading to margins of most images.) Contemporary black half morocco gilt, titled in gilt on upper cover, spine in five compartments with raised bands, titled in gilt in the second, the others with repeat decoration in gilt (affected by damp, scuffed). AN IMPORTANT EARLY PHOTOGRAPHIC RECORD OF ONE OF THE WONDERS OF THE WORLD BY A HIGHLY GIFTED PHOTOGRAPHER: ONE OF THE FIRST TO WORK IN THE REGION. Gsell was the first professional photographer to settle in Saigon in 1866. In the same year he took part in the Mekong exploration mission led by Doudart de Lagrée (1823-1868). Angkor Wat had been 'rediscovered' by the missionary Bouillevaux in December 1850, but its exploration by members of the Mekong expedition marked the start of what was to become the first systematic programme to record Cambodian antiquities. The present album is particularly important, not only for the quality of the images, but also because it includes images that were taken in 1866 during the very earliest stage of the recording of the area. Cf. Philippe Franchini and Jéröme Ghesquière. Photographes en Indochine. Tonkin, Annan, Cochinchine, Cambodge et Laos au XIXe siècle (Paris: Musée Guimet, 2001).