VITTORIO SELLA. Gasherbrum IV, 1909, Sella number HK 198. 15.3x11.4" gelatin silver print, printed c. 1909, mounted on 14x18" heavy gray board. Embossed with Vittorio Sella stamp in lower right of print. Inscribed in white ink on mount recto: Himalayas / Gasherbrum IV. Inscribed in pencil on mount verso: 98 Gasherbrum / Gasherbrum / 3 Loan / HK 198

Gasherbrum IV "In front of us, apparently quite close at hand, the transversal chain of the Gasherbrum seems to shut in the valley. It is a file of peaks and snow crests, stretching on both sides of the precipitous rock wall of Gasherbrum itself, all ridges and ice gullies, and nearly 10,500 feet." KARAKORAM & WESTERN HIMALAYA 1909 BY FILIPPO DE FILIPPI. NY DUTTON 1912 p. 213

In 1909, as Sella was approaching his fiftieth birthday, he and his long-time climbing friend the Duke of the Abruzzi, Luigi Amedeo di Savoia, embarked on their most ambitious journey yet, to climb K2 in the Western Himalaya Karakoram range, and to satisfy the Duke's primary intention to set a new high-altitude climbing record. In Tibetan, the name Karakoram means "black gravel," and to reach it meant crossing the vast mountainous region between Kashmir and Chinese Turkestan, a complex system of ranges, immense tablelands, intricate valleys, and mighty rivers.

The Duke wanted to determine how high human beings could climb and survive, a question that could only be solved by direct experience. The expedition ultimately spent over two months on the Karakoram glaciers and returned with a trove of scientific data that included a large number of photographs, a topographical survey of a portion of the high glacier basins, new altimetric measurements and meteorological data, new glaciological and geological observations, as well as the experience of long duration at low atmospheric pressure by both Europeans and natives.

Sella had already accompanied the Duke on expeditions to Alaska and Uganda, and once again the Duke wanted no one but Sella on the Karakoram expedition, knowing that his photographic record would be unsurpassed. Seven Italian guides and porters were chosen from Courmayeur, in the valley of Aosta, Italy. Sella brought with him Erminio Botta, who acted as assistant photographer, guide and porter, and was familiar with camp life and foreign mountaineering.

Gasherbrum IV is 7,932 m (26,001 ft.) and is the 17th highest peak on planet Earth. Originally designated as K3. K = Karakoram from Thomas Montgomerie's Trigonometrical Survey of British India in 1856. Giving each Peak a K (Karakoram) number until a local name was designated.

Excellent: Minor wear, edge wear. Mount has missing and worn corners and mount verso has tape residue.