Monsieur Itier's Cange Under Sail on the Nile

Andre-Victor-Alcide-Jules Itier

1845–46 · Daguerreotype · Photographs

Itier, an inspector general in the French State Customs Service, set sail for China in December 1843, carrying with him a complete daguerreotype outfit. From China he traveled to the Philippines, Java, Borneo, and Indochina, before beginning the long return voyage via Singapore, Ceylon, India, Aden, the Red Sea, and, finally, Egypt. While in Cairo in November 1845, Itier bought thirty new copper plates and boarded a cangia to sail up the Nile to Philae. Itier’s daguerreotypes are often difficult to see, partly a result of inadequate polishing. Despite such faults, his remarkable images are among our earliest photographic records of places far away from the birthplace of the medium.

Artist

Andre-Victor-Alcide-Jules Itier

Date

1845–46

Medium

Daguerreotype

Department

Photographs

Credit line

Gilman Collection, Gift of The Howard Gilman Foundation, 2005