These four bound albums house 92 oversize albumen prints showing images of Venetian architecture and artworks taken by notable photographer Carlo Naya during the 1860s and perhaps into the 1870s. The images were secured using the wet-collodion process on large glass plate negatives.
The cloth-bound albums measure 18 1/2 x 15 1/4 inches and each contains just over 20 prints mounted on hinged boards. The albums bear the English title "Venice" on the spines and covers, and are numbered I-IV. Album four reveals the large signature of a former owner - J.E. (John Edwin) Chase, an art collector and amateur naturalist of Holyoke, Massachusetts.
Subjects favored by Naya for these albums are the churches, palaces, canals, bridges, and piazzas of Venice, along with city monuments and statuary such as the Winged Lion of St. Mark and the equestrian statue of Bartolomeo Colleoni. The photographer's focus is on the elements of design and light; the few small human figures present in most images are included for purposes of scale. Featured sites include: the Palazzo Ducale; Piazza San Marco and the Basilica di San Marco; the Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri); the Gran Canale; and the church of SS. Giovanni and Paolo. Many images show interior details such as tombs (Titian and several Doges of Venice), bas-reliefs, altars, and grand staircases. In short, albums such as these display the subjects most sought-after by a knowledgeable tourist, and may have served as visual encyclopedias for educational institutions.
Nearly all the prints measure approximately 10 5/8 x 13 7/8 inches, each mounted on card stock with a handwritten caption below, the photographer's blind-stamp from his Riva Schiavoni studio, and the studio's negative number, which appears in the image. The captions are expressed in Italian with some English terms, and have been transcribed exactly as they appear, with a few errors retained. Only one sequence of images bears a date - 1865. There is a handful of prints with no negative numbers - these have been assigned an identification number starting with "UN." A few prints are signed by Naya (or Naija, as it is sometimes written).
Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts.
