VITTORIO SELLA Panorama of the Kangchenjunga and Chorteniima Ranges, Lhonak above Sayok Chu, from above 17,000 feet, 1899,Sella numbers HS 83-88. 7.1x44.7" 6 collodion prints, printed 1901, mounted on 9x47.5" heavy brown board. Embossed with Vittorio Sella stamp in lower right of print of Panel 6 HS 88. Inscribed in ink on mount recto panel, HS 88: Panorama on a peak about 18,000 ft. on the / north side of the Lungma Valley. Inscribed in pencil on mount recto panel, HS 83: 83-88. Inscribed in pencil mount verso panel 1 83-88. HS 83, other panels have pencil inscription numbers of the HS number. Prints mounts are taped on mount verso. The third and sixth panels were illustrated in HS 85 p. 174 The Pass (top middle) The Johnson La [Peak], HS 88 p. 148 The Limestone Range above the Sayok Chu.

"Alp vs. Sikhim glaciers", Freshfield writes, "we may assume that most of the distinctive features of the Sikhim Glaciers are due to the difference in climatic conditions between the Himalaya and the Alps. The former is exposed to greater variations of temperature, to fiercer sun-heat, below a certain level to heavier rainfalls. The frozen stuff, neve, or ice, consequently, becomes more plastic than in the Alps, it cracks less when subjected to tension, while its surface is not only modeled by evaporation, but also by the action of the drainage, which as a rule fails to find its way through moulins to the bed of the glacier." p 166. Round Kangchenjunga: A Narrative of Mountain Travel and Exploration, by Douglas Freshfield, London, Edward Arnold 1903

Although small in stature (only 5 foot 6 inches, today he would be considered an elite athlete) Sella possessed tremendous strength and endurance. He carried heavy, large-format cameras and glass plates, scaled treacherous slopes, worked in challenging weather conditions, and endured storage conditions that sometimes ruined his negatives. He made photographs with both stereoscopic and handheld Kodak cameras, afterward enlarging his prints by various means. His masterful compositions of sublime peaks captured crisp details and the vast array of tonal ranges enhanced by high-altitude light and shadow. His most celebrated works are large, multi-plate panoramas.

Excellent, minor wear, edge and corner wear. Panel 1 HS 53 has vertical abrasion where folded against other panel.