11th of September Square. Buenos Aires. Circa 1890.

Vintage print. Gelatin silver print. Black and white. Loose photograph. Dimensions: 18.7 x 29 cm. Verso: Ink stamp in black: "Witcomb - Buenos Aires." Next to it, the number "286" and the word "Once" are written in graphite pencil. In good condition. Luis Priamo Collection.

The scene shows the former Plaza 11 de Septiembre. The photograph was taken from an elevated vantage point to capture the vast space; the camera is pointed toward Rivadavia Street, which can be glimpsed in the background. The photographic equipment was set up on the upper level of the Western Railway (Ferrocarril del Oeste) station, located on the northern side of the aforementioned plaza. The collection of picturesque ox-drawn carts—with their tall wheels and arched covers—was always a curious sight for European travelers of the era.

This image was marketed by Witcomb—a photographic studio and art gallery that was among the most prominent in the country at the time—using photographs acquired from Christiano Junior, the photographer who took the shot. It was reproduced in the book published by the Antorchas Foundation (2002), *Un país en transición: Fotografías de Buenos Aires, Cuyo y el Noroeste (1867–1883)*, by authors Abel Alexander and Luis Priamo.

Abel Alexander

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