A STATELY ARTERY

Avenida de Mayo, from the square. Buenos Aires. Circa 1898.

Vintage photography. Albumen copy mounted on an old cardboard support Measurements of the photograph: 16.9 x 22.7 cm. Written on the glass negative and at the bottom of the image: "1022 Avenida de Mayo, from the Plaza - A. W. B. & C. - Bs. As."

Since the landing of photography in the country in mid-1843, Buenos Aires became its largest commercial center and, in this special city, the vast majority of professionals settled and worked, almost all foreigners from Europe. His cameras then documented the urban home of thousands of his fellow immigrants. The Boote brothers then followed in the pioneering footsteps of Charles De Forest Fredricks, Adolfo Alexander, Estaban Gonnet, Benito Panunzi and Christiano Junior to mention just a few. In this case, Arturo Boote's tripod stands on the edge of the old Plaza de la Victoria and points its objective at the brand new Avenida de Mayo, documenting in this comprehensive view and its vanishing point, all the strength of this city that is already outlined as one of the great capitals of Latin America. More than 100 years later, the beautiful view No. 1022 by master Arturo Wood Boote becomes a precious collector's item for any lover of beautiful Buenos Aires.

The son of English immigrants, A. W. Boote (1861 - 1936) was a prominent photographer and album editor, with a professional career that spanned Buenos Aires from the late 1880s to the early 20th century.

He published views of the city, of the interior of Argentina and of neighboring countries, distributing loose photographs and albums with original works. He followed in the footsteps of his brother Samuel and around 1892 he acted under the name “Arturo W. Boote & Cía. Photographers editors”, with business premises in Cuyo-current Calle Sarmiento-Nº 767. He also signed his works as “A. W. Boote y & Ca. Photos” and many of his photographs bear the caption “A. W. B. & C. Bs. As.”, as we can see in this vintage photograph. After 1910 he turned to other commercial activities with great success. In the history of Argentine photography, the brothers Samuel and Arturo Boote are considered the most prolific editors of national views.

Abel Alexander

President of the Ibero-American Society for the History of Photography