Lot 12 Dα

„Founded by the German-born Gustave Richard Lambert (b. 1846), the firm was by the end of the 19th century the largest and most successful studio in South-East Asia, maintaining branches at various times in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, and Sumatra. It was appointed photographer to the king of Siam in 1880 and was also extensively patronized by the British colonial authorities to record political occasions and official visits. Although Lambert's personal presence in Singapore was sporadic, under the management of Alexander Koch the studio assembled the most extensive photographic documentation of the area, with a catalogue of views covering almost the entire Malay Archipelago. The firm's work forms a particularly valuable historical record of Singapore and Kuala Lumpur.” (Quoted from Robin Lenman (ed.), The Oxford Companion to the Photograph, Oxford 2005, p. 347)