1. VITTORIO SELLA. Monch, from the Jungfraujoch at 11,152 feet, c. 1879-1892, Sella number AIX 207. 11.2x15" collodion print, printed c. 1893, mounted on 12.3x16.3" brown board. Inscribed in ink on mount recto: 207. Monch, from the Jungfraujoch at 11152; inscribed in blue pencil: A IX. Print recto embossed with artist's credit stamp in bottom right corner; inscribed in ink: 207. Stamped in ink on mount verso: Depose / Tous droits - reserves / V. Sella - Biella.

2. VITTORIO SELLA. Jungfrau, c. 1879-1892, Sella number AIX 206. 11.3x15" collodion print, printed c. 1893, mounted on 12.3x16.5" brown board. Inscribed in ink on mount recto: 206 Jungfrau; inscribed in blue pencil: A IX [cut off]. Print recto embossed with artist's credit stamp in bottom right corner; inscribed in ink: 206. Stamped in ink on mount verso: Depose / Tous droits - reserves / V. Sella - Biella.

The Jungfrau at 4,158 meters (13,642 ft) is one of the main summits of the Bernese Alps between the northern canton of Bern and the southern canton of Valais. Together with the Eiger and Monch, the Jungfrau forms a massive wall of mountains overlooking the Bernese Oberland and the Swiss Plateau and is one of the most distinctive sights of the Swiss Alps.

The Monch at 4,110 metres (13,480 ft) in the Bernese Alps, Swiss Oberland. Together with the Eiger and Jungfrau, it forms a highly recognizable group of mountains, visible from far away.

Vittorio Sella lived during the Golden Age of European mountain exploration when many peaks were being scaled for the first time. Prior to his era, mountains were mostly regarded as dangerous obstacles to be crossed, haunted by evil spirits. The early nineteenth century saw a dramatic shift in people's perception of mountains, heralded by the Romantic poets who lauded them as "palaces of nature" that embodied the eternal. To Wordsworth and others of the Romantic era, alpine pinnacles became symbols of the heights to which the imagination of man could aspire, toward the unattainable goals of understanding infinity, eternity, and the vastness of God. It was no accident that the beginnings of mountaineering as a sport coincided with the recognition that mountains were, in fact, beautiful. And the development of photography coincided with that very moment in the history of natural philosophy which has been called the "era of moralized mountaineering." This ushered in a sudden interest in landscape and natural scenery, along with poetry, painting, photography, and the art of travel as people sought out the heightened emotions brought about by a full experience of nature.

1. 207 Good: Mild wear, abrasions, dirt, corner and edge wear. Mount has dirt, marks, heavy corner and edge wear. 3, 3/4" vertical white lines on center of print.

2. 206 Good: Mild wear, abrasions, dirt, corner and edge wear. Mount has dirt, marks, corner and edge wear missing pieces and has old tape repairs.