The image shows a stretch of fortified city wall in Strasbourg, its crenellated parapet punctuated by regularly spaced merlons above a lower arcaded gallery with whitewashed panels between the arches. The wall runs alongside a straight, unpaved towpath bordered by low stone posts linked with chain, with a gas lamp and a row of town houses visible in the distance beneath a hazy sky and a faint church spire. The mount identifies the location as Strasbourg and bears the date 1870, situating the view within the context of the Franco-Prussian War siege of that city.
The photograph is credited on the mount to T. Richard, a photographer based in Maennedorf on the Zürichsee, with distribution through the Zurich firm of Attenhofer & Cie; the printed imprint, salmon-colored mount, and 1870 date are consistent with commercially issued Swiss stereoviews of the period documenting the Franco-Prussian War.
Photographer/publisher: T. Richard (Verlag Attenhofer & Cie, Zurich)
Period/date: 1870
Dimensions: 175 x 85 mm
Condition: Good; overall toning and light foxing to the albumen prints, with scattered darker spotting concentrated at the upper edge of the mount. Mount corners are rounded per period style and show minor edge and corner wear; surface is stable with no active flaking. Faint inked annotation ('392') present at lower margin.
Reverse: Not scanned; per seller notation, the reverse bears a red-ink inscription referencing the Franco-German War.
Keywords: France, Strasbourg, stereoview, Franco-Prussian War, Attenhofer
Photographer Biography:
No verified biographical information available.
Shipping Information: Shipping (worldwide): EUR 12 (registered). Shipping to the USA at risk of the buyer.