Japanese hand-coloured photographs by Raimund von Stillfried – geisha & river landscape, c. 1880

Description

Beautiful duo album photographs from c. 1880 by Baron Raimund von Stillfried, hand-coloured and full of Japanese elegance.

Origin & meaning: The set shows a graceful geisha in kimono playing koto in a serene indoor space on the one hand, and an idyllic river landscape with bridge and buildings on the other. Both prints are hand-coloured and mounted on cardboard (38.5 × 31 cm).

Photo character: These images are typical souvenirs from the Meiji period, popular with Western visitors; highly iconic for Travel Photography of the time due to hand-colouring and composition. Raimund von Stillfried was among the elite of 19th-century Japan photographers, along with Felice Beato.

Product photographs show the object on offer exactly as photographed. Any interior images are AI-generated impressions, included solely to illustrate scale and presentation.