Wednesday, November 01, 2006

Old Albanian Photos

In the lobby of the Hotel Adriatik there is a wonderful display of very old Albanian photographs. I couldn't resist taking photos of the photos! I have no information about who took them, when, where or why. If anyone knows anything at all I would be delighted to hear about them!


I call this one "The Hunters".


Detail of their intriguing faces!


Aren't these shoes just incredible?


A very interesting family no doubt!


Families at work in a factory.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love old photographs... A moment in time frozen forever...

Anonymous said...

Most likely, those photos come from the Marubi collection, of the "phototheque" of Shkodra. Marubi's were a family of photographers in Shkodra, the best known of whom were Pjeter, Kol and Geg Marubi, a tradition that continues to this day with Terezina Marubi. Pjeter, was probably the first photographer in Albania, with the oldest photograph taken in 1858. More:
http://www.inyourpocket.com/albania/shkodra/en/feature?id=56012

You can view some of the photos, here:
http://www.shkodraonline.com/galeria/main.php?g2_itemId=27

or here: http://galeria.albasoul.com/folklori

Anonymous said...

yeah definitely from the Marubi collection - lovely pictures! I think there is a Marubi museum in Shkodra if you ever go there.

Anonymous said...

Yes, that picture is indeed from Marubi, titled "The youth of Shala", taken somewhere between 1900 and 1910. Shala is a region in the northen Alps, in Shkodra district, and most likely those are guerrilla fighters during the insurgencies against the Ottoman Empire. Freedom fighters were favorite subjects of Marubi's photographs (he was himself involved in the garibaldine movement in Italy), and his very first photograph in 1858 (when Pjeter was only 24 years old), was of the legendary Hamza Kazazi (who at the time was 79). Kazazi had lead in 1835 a general uprising against Turks in Shkodra.

Another vintage photo, that I like:
http://www.zazzle.com/collections/products/product/product.asp?cid=238229370146256712&product_id=228990011136954671&size=portfolio&media=basic_cardstock_xry&CMP=OTC-NextagPrints&HBX=Library_of_Congress_Vintage_Photographs_Girls_Knitting_in_Albania_1923_portfolio_basic_cardstock_xry_228990011136954671

Anonymous said...

Fantastic photos - and fascinating history

Unknown said...

wow - how interesting. I love it!!! It reminds me a bit of what I saw at a canery here near Vancouver

Ginnie Hart said...

Very interesting indeed, T1. I think it's good for us to see the past through other people's eyes, to see from whence we've come! And BTW, the guy on the right in the top 2 photos is a dead ringer for Orlando Bloom, don't you think? :)

Anonymous said...

hey kim, thanks for sharing :)