Author Description

This book reveals for the first time a selection of exceptional images from the most important photography collection of the nineteenth century formed by a Brazilian private collector. The remarkable work of Ruy Souza e Silva in the search, acquisition and identification of more than 7,000 images, exceeds that of his predecessor Gilberto Ferrez (1900-1992), first major collector of old Brazilian photography. There are more than 400 images commented by the collector himself and chosen by him and Pedro Correa do Lago, the organizer. Most are unpublished, but many important images already known, have also been included. The daguerreotypes, all very rare, that Ruy Souza e Silva managed to acquire over two decades, also form the largest set ever assembled by a collector in Brazil. But the fundamental importance of this photographic collection lies in the first three known images of the Brazilian landscape, of which two form a panorama. These two are not only the first seen in photography taken in Brazil but also the first in all of America.