Numbered 681 on the verso and dated circa 1870, this carbon print by Adolphe Braun (1812–1877) shows the Lauterbrunnen Valley, Bernese Oberland, Switzerland.

Adolphe Braun began experimenting with a camera in 1851 and by 1857 had established a fine art publishing firm, Braun et Cie., whose commercial success as a print publisher would ultimately eclipse his own reputation as an individual photographic pioneer.

The Lauterbrunnen Valley, famous for its 72 waterfalls and sheer cliff faces, was one of the most photographed locations in Switzerland during the nineteenth century, and Braun's carbon print process – more durable and richly toned than earlier photographic methods – captured it with particular clarity. Collectors of early Alpine photography and Lauterbrunnen/Bernese Oberland views will find this a fine example of Braun's mature carbon print work.