A pioneering photographer's voyage to Brazil 121 years ago is being used as a catalyst to boost trade between the emerging superpower and Birmingham.
Previously unseen photographs taken by Birmingham industrialist-turned-photographer Sir Benjamin Stone in the South American country in 1893 are going on show at the Brazilian embassy in London.
It is hoped the exhibition will help to foster greater links between Birmingham and Brazil, an increasingly key export economy, with plans to exhibit in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 as part of the Cultural Olympiad.
Sir Benjamin's vast legacy of photographs and glass negatives are housed at the Library of Birmingham and its head of photography Pete James is co-curator of the exhibition.
Mr James said: "They are the photographs which Sir Benjamin Stone took when he went on an expedition to Brazil with the Royal Astronomical Society.
"He was one of three people to take what was a monumental adventure - it was three weeks just to get to Brazil and then another three weeks from there.
"There are about 250 photographs of his travels to and around Brazil, through the Amazon and then home.
"It gives a unique view of what Brazil looked like at the time and these photographs have never been seen before."
Sir Benjamin made it his life's work to collect and take photographs to create a historical record for generations to come as the world went through drastic changes during the rapid industrialisation of the late 19th century.
This was a feature of his work in Brazil, where he documented life on the beaches and ports along the coast and in the streets and marketplaces in towns such as Pará Curu in the state of Ceará and also in the states of Maranhão and Pernambuco.
He also documented his journey by steamboat up the mighty Amazon River, which contrasted with the relentless pace of industrialisation shown in images taken in Manaus, capital of the rubber trade at the start of the 20th century.
The expedition saw a group of three from the Royal Astronomical Society cart telescopes, cameras and plate glass negatives required to record a total eclipse of the sun to Brazil, with Sir Benjamin Stone serving as official photographer.
Mr James said that close co-operation between parties in England and Brazil was a key factor which he hoped to replicate with the exhibition.
"Following on in the spirit of collaboration which marked the 1893 expedition, we are repaying the compliment by bringing this exhibition into being here, next to and in partnership with the embassy," he said.
He added: "This partnership between businesses in Birmingham and Brazil can help with commercial engagement between the two."
The exhibition runs from September 12 to November 7.
Mr James curated it alongside Colombian Rodrigo Orrantia and it features 50 previously unseen photographs.
It has been supported by the Royal Astronomical Society, University of Birmingham, Jaguar Land Rover and Commercial Doctor, a consultancy and training company based in Selly Oak which helps UK firms to penetrate Brazilian markets.
Mr James said the longer-term aim was to develop a research project to explore all the images Sir Benjamin had made during the expedition and share them with audiences in Brazil.
Sir Benjamin, who was knighted for his services to politics after serving as an MP for 15 years, was inquisitive from an early age and began collecting scientific specimens and built up his own museum of sorts as a young man.
He is thought to have spent as much as £30,000 on photography during his lifetime - a figure equivalent to more than £1 million today - to preserve a photographic record for future generations.
Commercial Doctor founder Philip Gray said it had much potential for the region.
"Some major UK engineering businesses are already active in Brazil, including Rolls Royce, JCB, IMI and GKN. However. there is a clear opportunity for companies operating in the engineering supply chain to address the marketplace," he added.
