Early Photographs from Guatemala
4 Cabinet Cards of Indigneous People
Notes: Four very uncommon cabinet cards from the second (probably) professional photographer who worked in Guatemala.
Félix Muñíz y Cano, a Spaniard, came to the Americas with his older brother Ramón, who was also a photographer. They worked together in Lima for a number of years before Félix moved to Guatemala City in the late 1870s. He operated the "Siglo XX" studio until his death in 1894. Among photographers working in Guatemala in the 19th century, Muñíz y Cano was preceded only by the German immigrant, Emilio Herbruger.
Muñíz y Cano's images are very scarce, with but a single holding in OCLC (a commissioned portrait). He is not included in the monograph "Guatemala antes la lente, 1870–1997."
These are four ethnographic images of indigenous people from Central America; each is captioned in pencil on the back (verso):
1) Milk vendor & son. Guatemala.
2) Indian man with load to be seen every hour in Guatemala, C.A.
3) "Moses" employed in finka or farm—in costume.
4) "Moses." Indians who carry packages &c Guatemala. C.A. <in costume>
The second image is taken out of doors; the others are posed studio portraits.
The photographs are albumen prints measuring roughly 3-15/16 by 5-3/8 inches on 4-1/8 by 6-1/2 inch mounts.
About Muñíz y Cano, not much is known. Gabriela del Pilar Paz Rojas provides the most biographical information available in her thesis on his brother, Ramón Muñiz y Cano y su producción pictórica en Lima: La muerte de Pizarro y El repase.
Edition + Condition: The images have very good tonal range and contrast. The three studio images are on gray mounts with slightly rounded corners. The outdoor image is on a yellow mount with rounded corners. All four images have the same imprint: "El Siglo XX. Fotografía artística de Félix Muñíz y Cano. 9a Calle Oriente Núm. 9. Guatemala" inside a botanical border with insects. The mounts are tanned along the bottom, not affecting the prints.
Publication: Guatemala: Siglo XX, (ca. 1890).
Item No: #361667
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