L1.92 Bleek, Wilhelm [1875?]

L1.92 Bleek, Wilhelm [1875?]

Photographs and Portraits

1875

Portrait. Sepia. Bleek is seated adjacent to a table. Unmounted. Photographer's logo on back, printed within a paper scroll suspended from a bar with finials either end: W. Hermann, Artist, Stalplein, Cape Town. 9¾ x 8 inches.

Bleek's arm rests on a table on and adjacent to some books, and he holds an umbrella in his right hand. "This photograph of Bleek was taken just a few months before he died." (Banks 2006, Caption to Fig.12.5, p. 310). Banks also comments on the selection of books displayed on the table. He gives the source of this reproduction as "Manuscripts and Archives, University of Cape Town Libraries," but does not reference the source of his date attribution. There is no date on the original in the Bleek-Lloyd Family Archive. As it is not clear whether the prints in the Bleek Collection or elsewhere in the public domain carry the photographer's imprint, this well-known portrait of Bleek is listed here.