Prints from an archive of 6,500 glass plates, books on Egypt, and gifts from the oldest bookshop in Downtown.
Four things, as in the shop: photographs printed from the original plates, books in four languages, postcards from the past, and gifts made with our seal.
Printed from the original glass plates in our workshop, in four sizes, framed in Cairo if you wish.
374 printsOur own publications and a selection on Egypt, travel and photography in four languages.
From EGP 450Postcards from the past: Egypt as it was, from the plates. Singles and boxed sets.
From EGP 40Totes, notebooks, ceramics and textiles made with our seal and the lotus frieze.
From EGP 90Add products to this collection to show them here.
In 1904 a Bohemian photographer and a Saxon businessman opened a studio in Tunis. Twenty years later they began again in Cairo, and in 1936 opened the bookshop that still carries their names.
After the war the glass plates were boxed and forgotten. In 1982 Dr. Edouard Lambelet found them in a corner of the shop. Every print we sell is made from those plates, in our own workshop, and stamped on the back.
Add products to this collection to show them here.
Stories from the archive, the workshop and the shop.
How a geologist found six thousand glass negatives in a corner of his father's bookshop, and what happened next.
The workshop · 28 Sep 2026From a 1920s plate to a print on cotton paper: the steps, the paper, and why every print is stamped.
Biography · 9 Sep 2026Dressed like his companions, his plates on a dromedary: the Tunisian years that made the archive.
The shop · 20 Aug 2026The small sign at the entrance, the staircase, and what you will find upstairs.
“The print arrived in a tube, perfectly rolled, with the stamp on the back. It now hangs in our Zamalek flat and every guest asks about it.”
Sophie M.Zamalek · 30 × 40, dark wood frameVerified purchase“I bought the Postcards of the Past book as a gift for my father who grew up Downtown. He spent the whole evening with it.”
Omar H.Maadi · BookVerified purchase“Ordered from Berlin, shipped with DHL in four days. The quality of the paper is museum level.”
Jonas K.Berlin · 40 × 50, unframedVerified purchase“We furnished twelve rooms of our guesthouse with the Nile series. The Trade team handled sizes, frames and delivery in Luxor.”
Dar el-Nil GuesthouseLuxor · Trade orderVerified purchase“The mug is heavier and nicer than it looks online. Picked it up from the shop; the staircase is part of the charm.”
Nour A.Heliopolis · Stoneware mugVerified purchaseThey are modern prints made in our workshop from the inter-negatives of the original glass plates found in 1982. Each is stamped and numbered.
Four paper sizes from 24 × 30 cm to 50 × 70 cm, on archival matte cotton paper or baryta fibre paper. Custom sizes on request.
Yes, in dark wood, natural oak or black, made in Cairo. Framed prints are delivered within Egypt only; abroad we ship unframed in a rigid tube.
Yes. Governorates in 3–6 days, worldwide by DHL with tracking. Duties and taxes abroad are paid by the recipient.
“People will still remember these pictures after two hundred years.”
Attributed to Rudolf LehnertA small sign at the building entrance, a staircase, and a room where books in four languages share the walls with Lehnert's photographs. Allow half an hour.
Prints in any quantity, custom sizes, framing made in Cairo, invoicing and delivery across Egypt and the Gulf. Request the lookbook.