The title of this photograph translates to The Prayer and was made by Count d’Assche, listed in the 1894 exposition catalogue alphabetically  as “Assche (Comte D’), château de Noailhac (France).

The Château de Noailhac, erected  in 1850, is located in Tarn in southwestern France, just south of Castres, and 80 kilometers due east of Toulouse. The château grounds cover 27,000 square meters.

“Bordezon” reference printed on  tissue guard refers to Boissezon, a nearby village to the château.

An 1898 article by the New York Times referred to Count d’Assche as the “well known Belgian statesman” (1.)

His full legal name was Edouard Dimitri Comte Van der Noot Marquis D’Assche. A probate notice published in 1930 stated Comte D’Assche had died intestate in Cannes, France, on November 4, 1928. (2.)

Copper plate by Paul Dujardin, de Paris (pretée par la Direction de Photo-Gazette)

1. New York Times: July 31, 1898
2. The London Gazette: March 25, 1930

Original copy for this entry posted to Facebook on September  7, 2011:

This striking genre photograph of a long-haired young girl with hands clasped is titled “The Prayer,” and is one of the highlights of the first Photo-Club de Paris salon portfolio from 1894. Count D’Assche, a member of the Belgian nobility, was living at the Château de Noailhac in Tarn, France at the time it was taken. His full name was Edouard Dimitri Comte Van der Noot Marquis D’Assche.