Stereoview showing a cog-wheel locomotive pushing a single open-sided passenger carriage along a curved timber trestle bridge on a mountain rack railway. Two men in dark suits stand on the trackside platform in the foreground while the line curves away through wooded, terraced terrain toward a distant summit. The mount bears the printed caption 'No. 451. Chemin de fer du Rigi' along the lower border of the right-hand image.
The front mount is imprinted 'F. Charnaux à Genève' and 'Suisse & Savoie', identifying the publisher as the Geneva-based studio of Florentin Charnaux; the illustrated verso, listing exhibition medals awarded through 1879, is consistent with mounts issued by this firm in the years following that date.
Photographer/publisher: F. Charnaux
Period/date: circa 1875-1880
Dimensions: 175 x 85 mm
Condition: Good; the mount shows a small corner loss to the upper right edge and light overall toning and soiling to the card stock, with a faint adhesive/paper residue mark to the lower center between the two images. The albumen prints retain stable tonality with only minor fading, and the printed caption remains fully legible.
Reverse: Illustrated advertising verso in green ink depicting a handshake scene between three historical figures, captioned 'MAISON DES TROIS ROIS.' above 'F. CHARNAUX / GENÈVE.', surrounded by an arc of medal illustrations inscribed 'PARIS 1870', 'LYON 1872', 'VIENNE 1873', 'PHILADELPHIA 1876', 'PARIS 1878', and 'PARIS 1879'. A faint partially legible printed or embossed line appears at the lower left, and a small pencil number '15' is inscribed at the upper left corner.
Keywords: Switzerland, Rigi Railway, stereoview, mountain railway, Charnaux
Photographer Biography:
Florentin Charnaux operated a photographic publishing house in Geneva under the name 'Maison des Trois Rois,' active from the 1860s into the 1880s.
The firm specialized in stereoviews and cabinet-format views of Swiss Alpine scenery, lake panoramas, and topical subjects including the region's early mountain railways.
Charnaux's mounts frequently advertise medals received at international exhibitions in Paris, Lyon, Vienna, and Philadelphia during the 1870s.
The business later continued under the name Charnaux Frères & Cie.
Shipping Information: Shipping (worldwide): EUR 12 (registered). Shipping to the USA at risk of the buyer.