**First Time At Auction**

Pedro Guerra (also Pedro Guerra Jordan) (Mexican, 1857-1917), four silver albumin photographs, ca. late 19th to early 20th century CE. A wonderful ensemble of four photographs by Pedro Guerra, a pioneer of photography in the Yucatan area of Mexico whose studio was active from the last quarter of the 19th century until 1917 - each one in a mat that is features his red studio seal in the lower right corner with "Photografia Guerra Merida Yuc" around an image of a camera. Three of the compositions depict Maya archaeological sites (one labeled Uxmal in the negative), and one presents an ensemble of six lovely native ladies dressed in embroidered long dresses and wearing rosaries; the three seated in front row are playing string instruments. Size: each measures ~ 9.25" W x 7.375" H (23.5 cm x 18.7 cm) with slight variations; 13.75" W x 10.75" H (34.9 cm x 27.3 cm) including mattes

On the verso is a handwritten inscription which generally translates, "November 12, 1909 / Memories from Yucatan / the Agricultural Camera to Sr. John S. Haggerty". This refers to John Strong Haggerty, a leader in Detroit business circles, which included agricultural pursuits and later brick laying. Follow this link for more about Haggerty - https://books.google.com/books?id=G0YzAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA342&lpg=PA342&dq=john+s.+haggerty&source=bl&ots=Af9LBoRPDi&sig=4FgnjvSVPVT33K6AE9AiSm-A3zY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjD5-GvzazeAhVq6oMKHbGwDGYQ6AEwBXoECAIQAQ#v=onepage&q=john%20s.%20haggerty&f=false)

For more about Pedro Guerra Jordan, read "Fotografia Artistica Guerra. Yucatan / Mexico" - a wonderful book that according to the Yucatan Times, "presents the history of Yucatan from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century, through the lens of Pedro Guerra Jordán and his son Pedro Guerra Aguilar." (https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2018/03/guerra-photographers-capture-yucatecan-history-in-280-illustrations/)

The article continues, "The images, belonging to the Fototeca Pedro Guerra of the Autonomous University of Yucatan (UADY), offer a visual chronicle of the history of the Yucatecan society with which the reader will achieve a better uniderstanding of the lifestyle in Southeast Mexico during the last 120 years."

Provenance: ex-old private New England, USA collection, acquired in the 1970s; ex-old Ohio private family collection of the man the group was made for (Dr. John S. Haggerty) by Guerra. Each has red tag of Guerra Fotografia, Merida Yucatan.

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#140572

Photos show age wear with some fading and staining. Original 1900's mat board that images are adhered to for framing show normal bending and staining commensurate with age; one has a tear to periphery of left margin.