5 Papeete (Tahiti) Albumen photographs, including Brig 'Galilee'.

Tahiti: 1896. Five lovely albumen snap shots of Tahiti by an unidentified photographer, captioned in a period hand, with one showing the Brig 'Galilee' in the harbor of Papeete, under the command of Capt. Dinsmore.

The brig was a very fast ship, built by the Matthew Turner shipyard in Benicia California in 1891, for the packet line between San Francisco and Tahiti carrying passengers, freight and mail. 'Galilee' set a record of 21 days for her return trip from Tahiti; in 1905 she was chartered by the Carnegie Institution and converted into a magnetic observatory, making voyages throughout the Pacific, including to New Zealand, and measuring Earth's magnetic field for 3 years.

The 'Galilee' and Papeete are pictured here at exactly the time in which Paul Gaugin was living near the town and travelling there to participate in the social and political life of the French colony, contributing to a local anti colonial journal and editing and illustrating his own monthly publication.

The other snap shots include a bird's eye view of the town and harbor; a landscape view of mountains captioned "Moorea, Tahiti, 1896 (some minor remnants of album paper adhered); a palm tree lined country lane; and a native village with 2 villagers standing in front of thatched dwellings captioned "Drive around Papeete, 1896".

Images 5 3/4 x 3" and 4 1/4 x 6 1/4", laid down on board. Very good overall. Item #23875

Price: $475.00