A Series of Nine Albumen Views of Costa Rica, c. 1895

Costa Rica, 1890. Albumen photographs, 9 x 7 ½ inches on larger mounts, with credits to Rudd y Paynter and the Paynter Bros. Near Fine. H.N. Rudd and the Paynter Brothers, Richard and John, were photographers who were active in Costa Rica in the 1890s, operating out of San Jose. Five of these views show the Rudd y Paynter mark on versos, with their address at the Parque Central in San Jose. The Paynters were from the United States, arriving in 1874 and first establishing Rudd y Paynter out of a shop in the Parque Central, where they also sold marble and art objects. In 1895 the studio changed its name to Paynter Bros.

Collected here are nine scarce albumen views of Costa Rica from the 1890s. Five of them document a trip up Mt. Turrialba (these bear the Rudd y Paynter mark). Of the other other four, one image shows a building likely in San Jose with a gathered crowd; one shows a very striking mural and is captured "Corpus Christi / Cartaga, Costa Rica, June 4 / 96 (this shows no photographers mars though the size and format are identical to the others and we presume the photographers to be the Paynter brothers); One shows industrial coffee machinery on "El Canada," the last shows a group of people in front of the bridge over the Rio Grande, with a platform showing the markings of the Hamlin Car and Wheel Company of Catwissa, PA. The group, with the exception of the Corpus Christi image, are mounted on uniform heavy cardstock mounts with gilt edges, and remain in particularly fine condition with excellent contrast and some light wear to mounts. Overall a scarce group documenting Costa Rica at a time when few photographers operated.