Title: Panorama of Constantinople, Taken from the Galata Tower

Description

The firm of Sébah & Joaillier was a partnership between Jean Pascal Sébah (son of the eminent Ottoman photographer Pascal Sébah) and the Frenchman Polycarpe Joaillier. The firm became official photographer to the Ottoman sultan and was responsible for an enormous number of photographs from throughout the Ottoman Empire. Panoramic photographs employ a variety of techniques to create a wide angle of view. This panorama, most likely taken in the late 1880s, is comprised of ten photographs spliced together to give the viewer a broader image than would have been practical with a single photograph. The Galata Tower, from which the ten images were taken, was built by the Genoese in 1348 and has remained a focal point of the Istanbul cityscape and a popular lookout spot.