VITTORIO SELLA. Baksan Valley, Mount Giugouturly-Ciat (601); Koshtantau, Dychtau, Shkara, the Adyl valley, etc. (602); Dongosorum, Ushba, Leila-Gora, Suanetia, etc. (603); Chubikevi (sheku) and Otur, Suanetia. etc. (604), c. 1889-1890, Sella numbers CI 601-604. 10.8x54.6" collodion print, printed c. 1892-1893, mounted on 57 1/2x13 1/8" brown board.
1. Inscribed in ink on mount recto: Baksan Valley, Mount Giugouturly-Ciat, etc.; Inscribed in pencil: 601-604; Inscribed in ink on mount verso: Caucasus; Inscribed in pencil: Caucasus/ C.I.(?) - No. 601-604/ 601-604-CI/ VSI1232.
2. Inscribed in ink on mount recto: Koshtantau, Dychtau, Shkara, the Adyl valley, etc.; Inscribed in ink on mount verso: Caucasus.
3. Inscribed in ink on mount recto: Dongosorum, Ushba, Leila-Gora, Suanetia, etc,; Inscribed in ink on mount verso: Caucasus.
4. Inscribed in ink on mount recto: Chubikevi (sheku) and Otur, Suanetia. etc.; Inscribed in pencil: 601-604; Print recto embossed with artist's credit stamp in bottom right corner; Inscribed in ink on mount verso: Caucasus.

Frederick Chapin wrote for the AMC Bulletin about Sella's 1889 trip to the Caucasus: "From the eastern peak of Elbruz, four panoramic views were secured. These are very successful in every way, but especially so in representing grand cloud effects. In one of these (No. 601), which shows sombre rocks in the foreground, the clouds far below the observer seem to be tossing like the billows of the ocean and disappear over the distant plain; in another of the same series (No. 602), they look like a great inland sea.
Sella generally uses glass negatives, but some beautiful pictures (such as No. 655) were taken on Balagny films. These pictures are of interest not only to the geographer and mountaineer, but to the ethnologist as well, for types of the people, their villages, and their antiquities are presented to us. A set of Sella's Caucasian views would be of great value in the libraries of our geographical societies and colleges, as truthfully representing one of the remote quarters of the globe." f. H. C.
Babis Mta (also known as Donguzorun) is a glacier-covered peak in the central part of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range. The mountain is located on the border of Georgia and Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia. The elevation of the mountain is 4,454 metres (14,613 ft) above sea level. The Tsalgmili Range branches off from the southern flank of the mountain. The glaciers of Ledeshdvi, Dolra and Donguzorun descend from the slopes of Babis Mta.

The sale of lots from this auction will directly benefit the Appalachian Mountain Club Trails Protection Fund; Conservation Research and Climate Action; and the Modernization and Preservation of the AMC Library and Archives.
Koshtan-Tau (5,144 m (16,877 ft) is the highest peak (5,144m) of the Koshtan massif of the central Caucasus Mountains in the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic of Russia, near the border with Georgia. The peak was first ascended in 1889 by Herman Woolley and party. Ushba (4,710 m (15,450 ft) is one of the most notable peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. It is in the Svaneti region of Georgia, just south of the border with the Kabardino-Balkaria region of Russia. Although it does not rank in the 10 highest peaks of the range, Ushba is known as the "Matterhorn of the Caucasus" for its picturesque, spire-shaped double summit. Due to its steep profile and unstable weather, Ushba is considered by many climbers as the most difficult ascent in the Caucasus. Shkhara (5,193 m (17,000 ft) is the highest point in the nation of Georgia. Located in the Svaneti region along the Georgia-Russia border, Shkhara lies 88 kilometres (55 mi) north of the city of Kutaisi, Georgia's second-largest city. The summit lies in the central part of the Greater Caucasus Mountain Range, to the south-east of Mount Elbrus, Europe's highest mountain. Shkhara is the third-highest peak in the Caucasus, just behind Dykh-Tau. Dykh-Tau or Dykhtau is in Kabardino-Balkaria Republic; its peak stands about 5 km (3 mi) north of the border with Georgia. Dykh-Tau is the second highest of the Caucasus Mountains, after Mount Elbrus, and is the second highest mountain in Europe.at 5,205 m (17,077 ft).

Excellent: minor wear, abrasions, scratches, marks and dirt; 601 and 604 have vertical abrasion wear lines. Mount has corner and edge wear, dirt, and marks.