1870 Sarolidi and Comianos Albumen Print Map of the Suez Canal

This is a c. 1870 albumen photo map of the Suez Canal created by G. Sarolidi and N. Comianos. The piece combines a map of the Suez Canal with portraits of important individuals and views of waypoints along the Canal route.

A Closer Look

The central map depicts the Suez Canal from Port Said to Suez, with towns, lakes, and other waypoints labeled. The Canal of the Pharaohs is also illustrated. A cross-section of the Canal's route below the map labels the lakes and other waypoints. Small photographs line the top and bottom of the piece. A portrait of Ferdinand de Lesseps, the developer of the Suez Canal, occupies the upper-left. A portrait of Isma'il Pasha appears in the upper-right. Views of waypoints along the Canal are situated between the two portraits. At center, below the views, are portraits of Muhammad Ali of Egypt (considered the founder of modern Egypt), Sa'id of Egypt, and the son of Isma'il Pasha. Four photographic views line the bottom border and include two views of Port-Said, one of Ismailia, and another of Suez.

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal was constructed by the Suez Canal Company between 1859 and 1869, officially opening to maritime traffic on November 17, 1869. The Canal cuts through the western Sinai Peninsula between the Mediterranean at Port Said and the Red Sea at Suez. The completion of the Canal allowed for significantly faster communication between European ports and the lucrative markets of Asia, as they nullified the need to round Africa.

Work began on April 25, 1859, shortly after the developer Ferdinand de Lesseps obtained a concession from Sa'id Pasha, the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. He created an international commission of 13 experts from 7 countries to construct the Canal.  Much of the construction force was conscripted labor under the corvée system, which was common in Egypt until 1882, when it was outlawed. The British initially opposed the Canal out of fear it would disrupt English dominance of the Indian Ocean maritime trade, but in 1875, when Said Pasha's successor, Isma'il Pasha, ran up excessive debt, the British government acquired 44% of the Canal. In 1888, it was declared a neutral zone under British protection. Today, the Canal is under Egyptian control.

Publication History and Census

This photograph was produced by G. Sarolidi and N. Comianos in Port-Said, Egypt, c. 1870. We note cataloged examples as being a part of the collections at the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Rijksmuseum.