Manuel Moral y Vega

Manuel Augusto Moral da Veiga (16 March 1865 - 7 November 1913), also known as Manuel Moral y Vega or simply as Moral, was a Portuguese photographer and publisher. He was active in early twentieth-century Peru,^[2] where he is considered the "father of Peruvian photojournalism."^[3]

In Peru, he was involved in the publication of Prisma (1905 - June 1907), Variedades (a weekly launched 10 March 1908 and the former's successor) and, later, La Crónica. He maintained photographic studios in Callao and Central Lima.^[4]

Moral was born in Faro, Portugal, in 1865. He reached Peru in 1883, establishing himself in Callao, at No. 17 of Calle La Misión, until 1900.^[1] He quickly established a commercial relationship with Scottish photographer William T. Mason, who served as his mentor. After becoming a specialist in his trade, he routinely travelled to the United States and Europe to acquire photographic material to distribute. Like other photographers of his time, he also travelled to Peru's interior regions, where he offered his services. From February to August 1898, he maintained a stable study in Arequipa.^[5] In 1903, he inaugurated his studio at Calle Mantas, in central Lima.^[5] He was a collaborator for a number of magazines, such as El Monitor Popular, Actualidades and El Lucero.^[1]

He died in Lima on November 7, 1913.^[1] In 1916, photographer Luis S. Ugarte purchased the studio's inventory, serving as Moral's successor and superimposing a signature of his own in several of Moral's photographs.^[1]

• Mundial (magazine)
• Eugenio Courret