ALBANIA - ROYAL FAMILY - ALEXANDER BASSANO 1829-1913 - Lot 239

ALBANIA - ROYAL FAMILY - ALEXANDER BASSANO 1829-1913 - ARTHUR BENDA 1885-1969 - PIETRO MARUBI 1834-1903 - DOROTHY WILDING 1893-1976 Album featuring numerous court and private portraits of the Albanian royal family, in particular King Zog I and his wife Geraldine Apponyi, ca.1925-1955. Photographs. Album comprising approx. 154 vintage silver prints, including 4 in postcard format, 5 dedicated by members of the royal family, 1 signed by photographer T.Kosova on the image, 7 by photographer Harligo, 1 official portrait signed by d'Ora Arthur Benda under the image, 2 with dry stamp from the Optical studio in Cannes, 1 portrait of the king by Blackstone in New York, 1 of the prince by M.W.Keen. Includes 2 postcards, 1 brochure in French and Albanian on the King's visit to Egypt, and a visiting card from the Princess of Albania. Black leather cover decorated with Egyptian hieroglyphs, 1st cover enhanced with color. Official portrait of the king, his wife and son Leka, in front of their library, the family in England in 1946, in front of the Shah Jahan mosque in Woking, the king and royal family visiting Egypt in the Valley of the Kings, at the temple of Karnak, the king and queen in military garb trying their hand at cannon firing, walking their horse, in their home, in front of the royal villa at Durrës, in front of the stele of Thutmosis IV between the legs of the Giza sphinx, numerous portraits of the royal couple outdoors, military parade, Albanian princess Senije Zogu, portrait of prince Leka Zogu and handwritten note in English in ink under the image "My little baby darling. He looks grown up doesn't he ?probably by Queen Geraldine, official dinner, the royal couple smoking on their sofa, the King at the 25th anniversary of Albanian independence, the family on a ship, Princess Myzejen Zogu, Prince Leka Zogu as a child shooting a bow, with a sword in traditional dress, receptions, the king on a donkey and the queen on a camel, the king shirtless on a boat, in shorts and wifebeater in his interior, Leka Zogu in military dress (photograph signed and dated 1959 by the prince). Images: 4 x 5.5 cm to 22.8 x 16.2 cm; album: 27.5 x 35 cm In Albania, photographers were free to practice their craft until around 1950, after which all photographic holdings were seized by the state and photography became a matter of identification. Even today, the collections are very difficult to access. Following the proclamation of the Republic of Albania in 1946, King Zog was forced into exile, taking refuge with his family in various European countries before finally settling in France.