20 silver prints documenting the Independence Centenary International Exposition of Brazil.

20 photos, b/w, 23 x 17 cm, signed, titled, numbered and dated in the image.

Augusto Malta (1864-1957) was a prominent Brazilian photographer from the early 20th c. His work as the official photographer of the then Federal District between the 1900s and 1930s, appointed by Pereira Passos, allowed him to create a significant collection documenting the transformations of Rio de Janeiro’s urbanization in the first 3 decades of the 20th c. He documented the grand events and the more everyday aspects of city life. Malta documented constructions, demolitions, interventions in public spaces, squares, and historic buildings, as well as the city’s people. Our set of photographs shows the constructions and interventions in urban space preparing the Independence Centenary International Exposition being as a matter of fact a World Fair held in Rio de Janeiro, the then nation's capital. It was a show off of Brazil's growing commerce and industries. The Expo's pavilions were constructed alongside the Rio Branco Avenue and built just for the occasion. Among the photos: the Belgian, Denmark, Argentine, Statistics and Hunting and Fishing, Travel and Agriculture, Italian, Small Industries, Japan and Norvegian pavilion, some bird's-eye views and some views on the Av. das Nações.