The Bellezas de Gerona photo album is a work created by Joan Mart\u00ed between 1876 and 1877. It is undoubtedly the flagship work of the collodion era in the city of Girona, for its innovative treatment of urban photography and for its presentation in album format, while representing the first photographic reportage of Girona with a clear desire to make the city’s heritage known abroad. Joan Mart\u00ed was a renowned photographer from Barcelona who had a gallery in the capital since the end of 1850 and who had characterized himself as an enterprising and innovative professional. The author’s decision to publish this work is probably due to the commission he received from the Cathedral Chapter. The result is a first carbon copy album focused on the cathedral’s treasure, edited by Vives and served as a gift from the city to Pope Pius IX. At the same time, the same publisher published an album with albumen copies intended for the general public which was also distributed in single-sheet installments.
\nThis album is therefore a relevant sample of photographic work in the era before the snapshot. It is also an example of the commercialization of photography in its beginnings and at the same time it is a material witness to the photographic procedures of the time: collodion negatives for captures, albumen copies for trade, and carbon copies for the gift intended for the Pope, with the understanding that this is a more noble and more stable procedure.<\/p>\n
This document is significant at the European level because it demonstrates the value of photography in the dissemination of heritage, because, in addition to marketing the album, a special edition was created which the city of Girona gave to Pope Pius IX.<\/p>\n
Photographic document. Girona City Council Collection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":14731,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false},"eix":[27],"class_list":["post-10487","document","type-document","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","eix-els-habitats-historics-urbanisme-i-arquitectura"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n