Photography in Brazil : 1840-1900

We cite from the COVER:
"First published in 1985 in a Portuguese edition, A Fotografia no Brasil, this book remains the basic text on the history of nineteenth-century Brazilian photography, and Gilberto Ferrez is regarded as both the founder of this field of study and its greatest authority."
"The author has conducted a thorough study of the major photographers and studios active in Brazil, with special emphasis on landscape and cityscape photography. He argues convincingly for the importance of Brazilian efforts to the cannon of historical photographs. He also discusses photographic processes, formats, genres, and patronage. Of special interest is the inclusion of contemporary accounts, advertisements, caricatures, and illustrations, as well as a large number of high-quality photographic reproductions. The unique patronage that photographers enjoyed in nineteenth-century Brazil—thanks to a prolonged period of political stability and the Emperor's avid interest in photography—resulted in the largest photographic production of any Latin American country. Much of this work was commissioned by the State and has survived in government-supported institutions, as well as in private collections."