Panorama die Alexandrie pris du Fort Napoleon.

Panorama die Alexandrie pris du Fort Napoleon.
Egypt, Port Said, Cairo. Adelphoi Zangaki, 2nd floor of the XIX century. - 1 l. on Passepartout. Passepartout size: 29 x 24.5 cm; photo size: 28 x 22 cm. Foxings, spots; passepartout cut carelessly.

The Zangaki brothers were two brothers of Greek origin who were active in Egypt and Algeria from the 1860s to the 1890s and specialized in photographing ancient monuments and scenes of everyday life, as well as making prints for the tourist trade. Their photos are often found in tourist albums collected in the Middle East in the second half of the XIX century.

By the 1850s, tourist trips to Egypt created a great demand for photographs as souvenirs. A small group of the first photographers, mostly of French origin, went to Cairo and the Nile Valley to capitalize on this demand. Among these pioneers were: Felix Bonfils (1831-1885); Gustave Le Gray (1820-1884), Emile Beschard (1860-1890); the British-Italian brothers Antonio Beato (ca.1832-1906) and Felice Beato (1832-1909), Hippolyte Arnoux (worked from 1860 to 1890) and the Zangaki brothers.

It is recognized that the Zangaki brothers "created some of the best images of late Victorian Egypt" and became the first photographers to give the world its large-scale images. Their photographs of the late 19th century, although produced exclusively for commercial purposes, are highly valued by historians and collectors for their understanding of the life of that time.