A Collection of 23 Photographs by Sigismund Blumann: California and West Coast Landscapes and Portraits, circa 1929

Fruitvale, California, 1929. Very Good. Twenty-three gelatin silver prints (7 ½" x 9 ½"), each tipped onto mounting boards (13" x 20"), signed by the artist in pencil on the mount with his Davis Street, Fruitvale, California studio label on the back; a few with the business card of Albert R. Bourges, Photo Engraver, also on the back. The mounts are toned, a few have narrow strips of masking tape along one vertical edge, one mount has a stain from a removed label, a few scattered small tears and stains, about very good overall, with all 23 prints in near fine condition.

A unique collection of gelatin silver bromide prints made by Blumann circa 1929, when he was conducting experiments with Bourges film screens. The collection consists of 16 images of Blumann's West Coast landscapes and portraits, including one self-portrait, together with 7 variant experimental prints made with different screens.

A San Francisco Bay-area photographer prominent in the California Camera and Los Angeles Camera Clubs, Blumann was also a fellow of the Royal Photographic Society in England. In 1924, he became editor of *Camera Craft* and later founded his own magazine, *Photo Art Monthly*, which he published until 1940. Among the images in this collection are four variant prints of "God's Truest Temple," and one of his best known pictorialist landscapes: "An Impression of the Dunes" (also known as "Japonica"). In keeping with his interest in alternative processes, Blumann comments on the self-portrait in this collection in the February, 1930 issue of *Camera Craft*: "When my experiments with Bourges Film Screens brought their possibilities to my finger tips I made a portrait of myself ... and I am compelled to admit it is a piece of good work." An unusual collection of prints that highlight Blumann's innovative processing techniques.

A list of the prints, most of which are titled in manuscript on Blumann's studio labels, is available.