3-009-013 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The International Exhibition: "Chamois-Hunters Reposing" by A. De Meuron, from a photograph by the London Stereoscopic Company, 1862. 'The geology and meteorology of the elevated region here represented have an unmistakable look of verisimilitude - in the square cleavage of the primary rocks...in the rarefied atmosphere...the cold light, the clear mountain lake, and the suddenly gathering mist, at which the lad leaning on his alpenstock looks with some anxiety. He is thinking, perhaps, of the difficulty of tracing the landmarks home, or of - as chamois-hunting is generally conducted in parties who converge from different points - finding other hunters and the appointed rendezvous...With all the difficulty, however, our hunter, who seems a thoroughly seasoned and experienced old hand, has succeeded in bagging one fine specimen, whose prepared skin may eventually be found on some of our hands or backs, or in some of our kitchens. So the party halt for a little repose before setting off home with their burdensome prize: one lad goes on all fours to slake his thirst with the iced and filtered water of the pure mountain lake, and the old hunter has spread before him his bread and dried pears and brandy-flask, and indulges in the inevitable pipe'. From "Illustrated London News", 1862.