<p>A self-portrait by a renowned 19th-century Swedish photographer, described as the world's first selfie, has sold for a whopping 70,000 pounds at a UK auction.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The image by Oscar Rjelander, which dates from the 1850s, sold for seven times its estimate at an auction in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England.<br /><br />The portrait, predating the modern day Twitter selfie phenomenon by more than 150 years, is part of a leather bound album of 70 albumen prints by the pioneering artist, 'yorkpress.co.uk' reported.<br /><br />"The vendor brought the album into the office, and asked for it to be sold with a reserve of 100 pounds. We quickly realised it was quite an important album of early photographs, when the art was really in its infancy," Morphets auctioneers director Liz Pepper-Darling said.<br /><br />The album attracted interest from across the world, and eventually sold to a foreign institution, Pepper-Darling said.<br /><br />"The vendor was in the room at the time, and had a very big smile on his face," said Pepper-Darling.<br /><br />Rjelander, who started out as a painter before taking up photography, became famous for his photomontage print 'The Two Ways of Life' which caused a scandal because of the partially nude subjects, the report said.<br /><br />He sold the album of 70 prints to a naval hydrographer Captain George Browning, and it was passed down through the family to the vendor.<br /><br />The album is thought to be the first body of work by Rjelander ever sold in public.</p>
<p>A self-portrait by a renowned 19th-century Swedish photographer, described as the world's first selfie, has sold for a whopping 70,000 pounds at a UK auction.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The image by Oscar Rjelander, which dates from the 1850s, sold for seven times its estimate at an auction in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England.<br /><br />The portrait, predating the modern day Twitter selfie phenomenon by more than 150 years, is part of a leather bound album of 70 albumen prints by the pioneering artist, 'yorkpress.co.uk' reported.<br /><br />"The vendor brought the album into the office, and asked for it to be sold with a reserve of 100 pounds. We quickly realised it was quite an important album of early photographs, when the art was really in its infancy," Morphets auctioneers director Liz Pepper-Darling said.<br /><br />The album attracted interest from across the world, and eventually sold to a foreign institution, Pepper-Darling said.<br /><br />"The vendor was in the room at the time, and had a very big smile on his face," said Pepper-Darling.<br /><br />Rjelander, who started out as a painter before taking up photography, became famous for his photomontage print 'The Two Ways of Life' which caused a scandal because of the partially nude subjects, the report said.<br /><br />He sold the album of 70 prints to a naval hydrographer Captain George Browning, and it was passed down through the family to the vendor.<br /><br />The album is thought to be the first body of work by Rjelander ever sold in public.</p>