Maps 8.d.24

Collection of 71 albumen prints on card mounts, a number with additional leaves of letterpress description attached. The majority of the mounts are signed by the photographer and have letterpress captions printed in German, English and French. The views of Japan form the largest section of the collection (57 prints), with 7 views of Siam (Thailand), 6 of China (Hong Kong) and 1 of Cochin China (Vietnam). An Austrian professional photographer, Wilhelm Burger (1844-1920) was attached to the Austro-Hungarian mission sent in October 1868 to establish diplomatic and commercial relations with China, Japan and Siam (Thailand). During the journey and in the course of the mission Burger took a wide range of topographical and portrait studies and after the departure of the official mission from Japan in November 1869, he received an additional commission from the Austro-Hungarian authorities to remain a further six weeks, in order to produce a detailed photographic record of Japanese artware. In February 1871, on his return from Asia, Burger was decorated by the Emperor Franz Josef II and was later appointed court photographer. See also Maps 12.e.22 for a smaller series of views of Algiers, Suez and Cape Town taken by Burger, presumably in the course of the same mission.