Paseo de Julio. Buenos Aires. Circa 1890.

Vintage print. Gelatin silver print. Black and white. Loose photograph. Dimensions: 19.2 x 24.2 cm. On the reverse: Ink stamp in black: "Witcomb - Buenos Aires." In good condition. From the collection of photographic historian Luis Priamo.

By a decree issued by Governor Juan Manuel de Rosas on October 30, 1848, the thoroughfare now known as Avenida Leandro N. Alem was named "Paseo de Julio." It was documented by early photographers in the 1860s—specifically, the Frenchman Esteban Gonnet and his Italian colleague Benito Panunzi (see items 2 through 4). Captured from a significant elevation using a large wooden camera, this *en plein air* image shows the piers along the Río de la Plata: the first, for passengers, and the one further away, for cargo, which leads to what was known as the "Aduana Nueva" (New Customs House) or "Aduana de Taylor" (Taylor’s Customs House).

This image, created by Christiano Junior, survived within the archives of his studio—archives that were acquired around 1878–1880 by the firm of Witcomb, in partnership with Roberto Mackern. Possessing such an extensive iconographic collection enabled the firm to become the preferred establishment for Buenos Aires’ high society. Furthermore, Witcomb marketed views of various regions across the country—originally captured by Christiano Junior himself—by producing new prints that gained significant popularity with the public.

This specific original print was reproduced in the book *Un país en transición: Fotografías de Buenos Aires, Cuyo y el Noroeste – Christiano Junior (1867–1883)*, published by the Fundación Antorchas (2002) and authored by Abel Alexander and Luis Priamo.

Abel Alexander

President, Ibero-American Society for the History of Photography