Early French Photo
1825 Héliographie by Niepce
2002 SOLD for € 500K including premium by Sotheby's
narrated in 2020
At the beginning of the 19th century, the use of images is considerably increased by the invention of lithography. Nicéphore Niépce develops from 1816 another method using a plaque covered with a photo-sensitive chemical substance.
The bitumen of Judea hardens under the light. Niépce dilutes it in an essence of lavender and smears the plaque. If a translucent object is placed on the plaque, the hardening under the light is variable according to the contrasts of the object. This effect can be achieved with a camera obscura.
The bitumen is removed after exposure and the plaque is inked in the hollows like an etching, before being pressed against the paper to create the positive image. It remains for the inventor to develop the fixators. This process is named heliography by Niépce.
Marie-Thérèse and André Jammes are passionate about the history of photography. They acquire a set of 48 autograph letters by Niépce. A low contrast image on 10 x 14.7 cm paper copying an old print of a man leading a horse is joined to a letter. Made in 1825, it is the oldest known example of a lasting fixation of a photographic image.
The photo, still accompanied by the letters, was sold for € 500K including premium by Sotheby's on March 21, 2002, pre-empted by the French State for the benefit of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The next phase is to improve the sensitivity of the substance and adjust the exposure time. Niépce obtains an acceptable readability in 1827 with his 16 x 20 cm view taken from the window of his laboratory in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes. The exposure time was probably spread over several days.
The bitumen of Judea hardens under the light. Niépce dilutes it in an essence of lavender and smears the plaque. If a translucent object is placed on the plaque, the hardening under the light is variable according to the contrasts of the object. This effect can be achieved with a camera obscura.
The bitumen is removed after exposure and the plaque is inked in the hollows like an etching, before being pressed against the paper to create the positive image. It remains for the inventor to develop the fixators. This process is named heliography by Niépce.
Marie-Thérèse and André Jammes are passionate about the history of photography. They acquire a set of 48 autograph letters by Niépce. A low contrast image on 10 x 14.7 cm paper copying an old print of a man leading a horse is joined to a letter. Made in 1825, it is the oldest known example of a lasting fixation of a photographic image.
The photo, still accompanied by the letters, was sold for € 500K including premium by Sotheby's on March 21, 2002, pre-empted by the French State for the benefit of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The next phase is to improve the sensitivity of the substance and adjust the exposure time. Niépce obtains an acceptable readability in 1827 with his 16 x 20 cm view taken from the window of his laboratory in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes. The exposure time was probably spread over several days.
GIRAULT de PRANGEY
1
1842 View in Athens
2003 SOLD for £ 570K by Christie's
Joseph-Philibert Girault de Prangey was an archaeologist. He circled the Mediterranea, on the western side from 1832 to 1834 and the eastern from 1842 to 1844. During his first voyage, he sketched the monuments with the precision required for his measurements. On his return he published in lithography his views of Moorish Spain.
The daguerreotype technique was made public in 1839. Before leaving for the Levant, he practiced it with views of Paris and of his country house, and self-portraits. In his quest for a maximum precision, he was already using the whole plate format, 24 x 19 cm. He takes about a thousand photos of which 300 will be numbered. On his return, he transfers them to watercolors and edits them in chromolithography.
His daguerreotypes of Greece, Turkey, Palestine, Syria and Egypt are the very first good quality photographs taken in these countries. Concerned about his archaeological research, he does not exploit his pioneering work of the new technique.
On May 20, 2003, Christie's dispersed 86 daguerreotypes from the artist's archive. This set included three masterpieces, by the precision of the framing and the beauty of the contrast.
The lot 13 is a whole plate view of the temple of Olympian Jupiter in Athens, taken in 1842. The artist was lucky : vignetting, very difficult to avoid at that time, did not reach the monument. The angle of view, obliquely in relation to the colonnades, is a powerful low angle. It was sold for £ 570K including premium. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
The daguerreotype technique was made public in 1839. Before leaving for the Levant, he practiced it with views of Paris and of his country house, and self-portraits. In his quest for a maximum precision, he was already using the whole plate format, 24 x 19 cm. He takes about a thousand photos of which 300 will be numbered. On his return, he transfers them to watercolors and edits them in chromolithography.
His daguerreotypes of Greece, Turkey, Palestine, Syria and Egypt are the very first good quality photographs taken in these countries. Concerned about his archaeological research, he does not exploit his pioneering work of the new technique.
On May 20, 2003, Christie's dispersed 86 daguerreotypes from the artist's archive. This set included three masterpieces, by the precision of the framing and the beauty of the contrast.
The lot 13 is a whole plate view of the temple of Olympian Jupiter in Athens, taken in 1842. The artist was lucky : vignetting, very difficult to avoid at that time, did not reach the monument. The angle of view, obliquely in relation to the colonnades, is a powerful low angle. It was sold for £ 570K including premium. The image is shared by Wikimedia.
2
1842-1843 Karnac
2003 SOLD for £ 400K by Christie's
In the sale of the Girault de Prangey daguerreotypes by Christie's on May 20, 2003, the view of the temple of Karnac through the Pylon is spectacularly symmetrical. This whole plate 24 x 19 cm made in 1842 or 1843 was sold for £ 400K, lot 72.
3
1842 Rome
2003 SOLD for £ 320K by Christie's
For the isolated columns, Girault de Prangey used to cut the plate in half in the direction of the height.
His 24 x 9.4 cm daguerreotype of Trajan's Column, made in 1842, is a technical feat due to its distortion-free composition which required a perfect mastery of the camera obscura. It was sold for £ 320K by Christie's on May 20, 2003, lot 6.
His 24 x 9.4 cm daguerreotype of Trajan's Column, made in 1842, is a technical feat due to its distortion-free composition which required a perfect mastery of the camera obscura. It was sold for £ 320K by Christie's on May 20, 2003, lot 6.
1851 Self Portrait by Le Gray at Arles-sur-Tech
2015 SOLD for € 500K including premium by Pierre Bergé et Associés
narrated in 2020 before the sale of another print at Drouot (see below)
In 1851 photography is no longer a mere technical curiosity. The French government, represented by the Commission des Monuments Historiques, wants to use it to record the image of monuments before restoring them.
Five photographers are chosen among the members of the Société Héliographique, created in January 1851. The monuments to be photographed are assigned to them with a distribution in five regions. Le Gray and Mestral regroup their missions and work together.
This great project arouses the enthusiasm of the Société Héliographique, very happy with this encouragement for large formats including a confrontation of the negative processes, for which Le Gray, Mestral and Le Secq use wax paper, Baldus gelatin paper and Bayard albumen glass. Le Gray is able to take 30 high quality photos within a single day.
The Commission had a goal of inventorying and preserving monuments and was not sensitive to the artistic quality, creating an intense frustration at the Société Héliographique. In 1965 André Jammes finds the negatives in the drawers of the government. The project is then identified as the Mission Héliographique.
On their journey, the photographers also work for their private use. The self-portrait by Le Gray in the Gothic cloister of Arles-sur-Tech in the Pyrénées Orientales department is one of the very rare examples featuring a character. It was certainly taken with Mestral's assistance.
Le Gray's technique is the most advanced but does not yet allow snapshots. The man is in a position of rest between two pillars under the very high arch. Strangely the top of the face is in the shadow of the hat.
An unmounted 34 x 25 cm salt paper positive print was sold for € 500K including premium by Pierre Bergé et Associés on March 19, 2015, lot 101. It was at that time the only known print of this view. Another positive of the same technique and dimension has surfaced. It passed at Drouot on October 16, 2020.
Five photographers are chosen among the members of the Société Héliographique, created in January 1851. The monuments to be photographed are assigned to them with a distribution in five regions. Le Gray and Mestral regroup their missions and work together.
This great project arouses the enthusiasm of the Société Héliographique, very happy with this encouragement for large formats including a confrontation of the negative processes, for which Le Gray, Mestral and Le Secq use wax paper, Baldus gelatin paper and Bayard albumen glass. Le Gray is able to take 30 high quality photos within a single day.
The Commission had a goal of inventorying and preserving monuments and was not sensitive to the artistic quality, creating an intense frustration at the Société Héliographique. In 1965 André Jammes finds the negatives in the drawers of the government. The project is then identified as the Mission Héliographique.
On their journey, the photographers also work for their private use. The self-portrait by Le Gray in the Gothic cloister of Arles-sur-Tech in the Pyrénées Orientales department is one of the very rare examples featuring a character. It was certainly taken with Mestral's assistance.
Le Gray's technique is the most advanced but does not yet allow snapshots. The man is in a position of rest between two pillars under the very high arch. Strangely the top of the face is in the shadow of the hat.
An unmounted 34 x 25 cm salt paper positive print was sold for € 500K including premium by Pierre Bergé et Associés on March 19, 2015, lot 101. It was at that time the only known print of this view. Another positive of the same technique and dimension has surfaced. It passed at Drouot on October 16, 2020.
1854 The Truth on Jerusalem
2013 SOLD for € 460K including premium
In 1851, the Commission des monuments historiques encourages the photography of French monuments by the best operators of that time. The success is significant and opens the door to new experiences.
Enthusiast in archeology, Auguste Salzmann gets a similar mission from the French government for photographing Rhodes. Annoyed by the controversy generated by the excellent work made by Félicien de Saulcy for dating the monuments of Jerusalem, he changes his travel plan. Photography is the modern way of providing evidence of the age and the Judaic origins of the monuments of this city.
In 1854, Salzmann shoots nearly 200 negatives in Jerusalem, in landscape or portrait position, on waxed paper 23 x 32 cm. The photography becomes through him an essential tool for scholars.
The duc de Luynes was an active sponsor of the development of photographic techniques. He buys a positive copy on salt paper of the Salzmann images printed in Lille in 1854 by Blanquart-Evrard.
The Luynes collection of Salzmann photos is the most complete than can be imagined because it even includes fifteen views that will not be selected for the 1856 edition. Around this time, 189 photos are assembled for Luynes in two volumes and the duc joins the first edition of the text.
This set is extremely important in the history of documentary photography. The lot is cautiously estimated € 120K, for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on October 22. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot is very important in the history of early French photography and was obviously worth more than its estimate even if the condition of the cards used for mounting the views was not great. It was sold for € 460K including premium.
Enthusiast in archeology, Auguste Salzmann gets a similar mission from the French government for photographing Rhodes. Annoyed by the controversy generated by the excellent work made by Félicien de Saulcy for dating the monuments of Jerusalem, he changes his travel plan. Photography is the modern way of providing evidence of the age and the Judaic origins of the monuments of this city.
In 1854, Salzmann shoots nearly 200 negatives in Jerusalem, in landscape or portrait position, on waxed paper 23 x 32 cm. The photography becomes through him an essential tool for scholars.
The duc de Luynes was an active sponsor of the development of photographic techniques. He buys a positive copy on salt paper of the Salzmann images printed in Lille in 1854 by Blanquart-Evrard.
The Luynes collection of Salzmann photos is the most complete than can be imagined because it even includes fifteen views that will not be selected for the 1856 edition. Around this time, 189 photos are assembled for Luynes in two volumes and the duc joins the first edition of the text.
This set is extremely important in the history of documentary photography. The lot is cautiously estimated € 120K, for sale by Sotheby's in Paris on October 22. Here is the link to the catalog.
POST SALE COMMENT
This lot is very important in the history of early French photography and was obviously worth more than its estimate even if the condition of the cards used for mounting the views was not great. It was sold for € 460K including premium.
1854-1855 Meeting of Nadar with Pierrot
2011 SOLD 540 K$ including premium
The elder of the Tournachon brothers was attracted by the easy life of literary figures in Paris. He met the writers and became a caricaturist under the pseudonym of Nadar.
The Second Empire is not kind to the lovers of freedom, and Nadar, now becoming a photographer, begins to shoot the portrait of his friends. A series of photos of Charles Deburau dates from the very short period, 1854-1855, when Nadar and his brother worked together.
The famous Baptiste Deburau, Charles's father, had worked at the Théâtre des Funambules from 1819 until his death in 1846. The shows of the streets, cafés-concerts and small theaters then animated the capital. Baptiste had revived the traditional character of Pierrot. He was the best mime of his time. Charles succeeded his father in that role.
A photo shows Charles Deburau in his long white dress of Pierrot, carefully observing the fruit basket he holds at the level of his heart. This salt print, 29 x 21 cm, is signed by Nadar Jne (young) and inscribed by Deburau to one of his collaborators.
It is a nice photo, and a rare witness to the transition between the trivial drama inspired by the commedia dell'arte and the expressive inventions of modern performances. It is estimated $ 150K, for sale by Phillips de Pury in New York on October 4. It is illustrated in the catalog shared by the auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
This photograph is a masterpiece of the early days of art photography. It was sold $ 450K before fees, 540K including premium.
The Second Empire is not kind to the lovers of freedom, and Nadar, now becoming a photographer, begins to shoot the portrait of his friends. A series of photos of Charles Deburau dates from the very short period, 1854-1855, when Nadar and his brother worked together.
The famous Baptiste Deburau, Charles's father, had worked at the Théâtre des Funambules from 1819 until his death in 1846. The shows of the streets, cafés-concerts and small theaters then animated the capital. Baptiste had revived the traditional character of Pierrot. He was the best mime of his time. Charles succeeded his father in that role.
A photo shows Charles Deburau in his long white dress of Pierrot, carefully observing the fruit basket he holds at the level of his heart. This salt print, 29 x 21 cm, is signed by Nadar Jne (young) and inscribed by Deburau to one of his collaborators.
It is a nice photo, and a rare witness to the transition between the trivial drama inspired by the commedia dell'arte and the expressive inventions of modern performances. It is estimated $ 150K, for sale by Phillips de Pury in New York on October 4. It is illustrated in the catalog shared by the auction house.
POST SALE COMMENT
This photograph is a masterpiece of the early days of art photography. It was sold $ 450K before fees, 540K including premium.
1856 Beech Tree Fontainebleau by Le Gray
1999 SOLD for £ 420K including premium by Sotheby's
Reference in Wikipedia.
1856-1857 Marines from Le Havre to Cette
2011 SOLD 917 K€ including premium
2016 SOLD for $ 970K including premium
PRE 2016 SALE DISCUSSION
On June 18, 2011 at Vendôme, Rouillac dispersed a collection of marine photos by Le Gray, from the family of a naval officer who had perhaps bought them directly from the artist.
Two views dominated that group by their freshness and their rarity. I discussed them together in 2011. They are now for sale by Christie's in New York on February 17.
Here is my 2011 discussion, where I inserted the Vendôme results and the links to the next sale.
The early photographers were also experimentalists, searching for the ideal process to produce perfect images. Gustave Le Gray was among the first artists deciding to fully rely on photography, and his technical achievements were also considerable.
He was one of the five photographers entrusted in 1851 to record the architectural heritage of France. Then he took as an artistic theme the studies of trees in the forest of Fontainebleau. He made between 1856 and 1858 a series of views of Marines that are in many purposes the masterpieces of the photography of his time. He practiced at that time the format 30 x 40 cm from collodion glass negative.
The boats on water and the waves are excuses to freeze the time, with a realism that even the best paintings could not offer. The effects of backlighting and the cloudy skies are technical feats that required different exposure times, and for which the artist conceived the idea of working with separate negatives.
The consecration of this series at auction went at London on October 27, 1999 when the Great wave of the Jammes collection was sold for £ 507K including premium by Sotheby's.
The rarest view of the Vendôme sale shows a fleet of boats leaving the harbor of Le Havre in 1856 or 1857. It is a beautiful contre-jour, with a bright sky. It was sold for € 917K including premium and is illustrated on the page shared post sale by Le Monde. It is estimated $ 300K by Christie's, lot 18.
The other outstanding view is the Broken wave made in 1857 at Cette (now Sète). It is a remarkable instantaneous view in portrait format adorned with two small boats, but the sky is less expressive. It was sold for € 372K including premium at Vendôme and is now estimated $ 150K by Christie's, lot 38.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM
Le Havre : $ 970K
Cette : $ 137K
On June 18, 2011 at Vendôme, Rouillac dispersed a collection of marine photos by Le Gray, from the family of a naval officer who had perhaps bought them directly from the artist.
Two views dominated that group by their freshness and their rarity. I discussed them together in 2011. They are now for sale by Christie's in New York on February 17.
Here is my 2011 discussion, where I inserted the Vendôme results and the links to the next sale.
The early photographers were also experimentalists, searching for the ideal process to produce perfect images. Gustave Le Gray was among the first artists deciding to fully rely on photography, and his technical achievements were also considerable.
He was one of the five photographers entrusted in 1851 to record the architectural heritage of France. Then he took as an artistic theme the studies of trees in the forest of Fontainebleau. He made between 1856 and 1858 a series of views of Marines that are in many purposes the masterpieces of the photography of his time. He practiced at that time the format 30 x 40 cm from collodion glass negative.
The boats on water and the waves are excuses to freeze the time, with a realism that even the best paintings could not offer. The effects of backlighting and the cloudy skies are technical feats that required different exposure times, and for which the artist conceived the idea of working with separate negatives.
The consecration of this series at auction went at London on October 27, 1999 when the Great wave of the Jammes collection was sold for £ 507K including premium by Sotheby's.
The rarest view of the Vendôme sale shows a fleet of boats leaving the harbor of Le Havre in 1856 or 1857. It is a beautiful contre-jour, with a bright sky. It was sold for € 917K including premium and is illustrated on the page shared post sale by Le Monde. It is estimated $ 300K by Christie's, lot 18.
The other outstanding view is the Broken wave made in 1857 at Cette (now Sète). It is a remarkable instantaneous view in portrait format adorned with two small boats, but the sky is less expressive. It was sold for € 372K including premium at Vendôme and is now estimated $ 150K by Christie's, lot 38.
RESULTS INCLUDING PREMIUM
Le Havre : $ 970K
Cette : $ 137K
A stunning image from a master of 19th c. photography: https://t.co/SNVolm901K https://t.co/SNVolm901K pic.twitter.com/CdkuOp3mzo
— Christie's (@ChristiesInc) February 5, 2016
1857 Camp de Châlons by Le Gray
2007 SOLD for € 700K by Artcurial
Napoléon III had said "l'Empire, c'est la paix" (Empire means peace). He made war in Crimea, Italy, Mexico, and his reign ended in the disastrous Franco-Prussian War. But he also took care to strengthen the military organization of France. The camp (field) in St-Maur, the Camp de Châlons and the Cherbourg harbour are the best examples.
The photographers are there. Military affairs are not subject to secret, indeed such news were used to display the strength of the army. In 1857, at the opening of the Camp de Châlons, Gustave Le Gray was invited by officials, or more probably by the Emperor himself, to illustrate the maneuvers.
Albums are prepared for the officers. It is useful to remind here that an album is not a book. It is assembled upon request, differently for each client, just like the composite atlas of the past.
The copy of Colonel d'Eggs, sold for € 700K by Artcurial in Paris on November 17, 2007, contained 64 albumen prints mounted on 54 x 65 cm cardboards.
The photographers are there. Military affairs are not subject to secret, indeed such news were used to display the strength of the army. In 1857, at the opening of the Camp de Châlons, Gustave Le Gray was invited by officials, or more probably by the Emperor himself, to illustrate the maneuvers.
Albums are prepared for the officers. It is useful to remind here that an album is not a book. It is assembled upon request, differently for each client, just like the composite atlas of the past.
The copy of Colonel d'Eggs, sold for € 700K by Artcurial in Paris on November 17, 2007, contained 64 albumen prints mounted on 54 x 65 cm cardboards.
1857 Grande Vague Cette by Le Gray
1999 SOLD for £ 510K including premium by Sotheby's
Reference in Wikipedia. See Note 15 therein.
> 1867 The Optical Doll
2018 SOLD for $ 333K including premium
The miniaturization of photography by shrinking was invented by Dancer in 1852. The sharpness of photos on glass invites for further innovations. In 1859 Dagron modifies a Stanhope lens to obtain a flat surface on which he glues a microphotograph. The lens offers a magnification ratio of x100 to x150. Dagron embeds his devices within pieces of jewelry.
In 1867 Dagron demonstrates the possibility of reducing the glass view down to about 1 mm while retaining a considerable amount of information in the image. He develops during the siege of Paris in 1870 the transmission of microphotographs by pigeons.
Rochard filed two patents for applying Dagron's invention to dolls. The Rochard-Jouets identification on these documents suggests that he was not associated with Dagron's company but was instead a competitor.
The first of these patents, in 1867, transforms a doll's bust into an optical toy. The head includes a kaleidoscope to be watched through the slit of the mouth. The back of the head is open for carrying the ambient lighting. The upper chest is decorated with a necklace made of Stanhope lenses whose metal frames are inlaid in the porcelain. It is also lit from behind. The second Rochard patent, in 1868, describes a tool for the industrial manufacture of his lenses.
The observer's position in front of the doll's mouth and chest was uncomfortable. It is likely that most of the highly rare Rochard dolls were equipped very early with a wig and a dress that obscured the lighting holes and thus canceled the optical effects. The bodies are attributed to Jumeau or Barrois.
It seems that Rochard's activity ceased around 1875. His dolls could not benefit from the electric lighting invented in 1879 by Edison.
On January 6 in Newport Beach CA, Theriault's sells a 76 cm high Rochard doll with a rotating head, lot 17 estimated $ 80K. It still has 24 of its 28 original 1 x 1.4 mm Stanhope views. The kaleidoscope is missing. This doll is narrated by Florence Theriault in the video shared by Theriault's Dolls.
In 1867 Dagron demonstrates the possibility of reducing the glass view down to about 1 mm while retaining a considerable amount of information in the image. He develops during the siege of Paris in 1870 the transmission of microphotographs by pigeons.
Rochard filed two patents for applying Dagron's invention to dolls. The Rochard-Jouets identification on these documents suggests that he was not associated with Dagron's company but was instead a competitor.
The first of these patents, in 1867, transforms a doll's bust into an optical toy. The head includes a kaleidoscope to be watched through the slit of the mouth. The back of the head is open for carrying the ambient lighting. The upper chest is decorated with a necklace made of Stanhope lenses whose metal frames are inlaid in the porcelain. It is also lit from behind. The second Rochard patent, in 1868, describes a tool for the industrial manufacture of his lenses.
The observer's position in front of the doll's mouth and chest was uncomfortable. It is likely that most of the highly rare Rochard dolls were equipped very early with a wig and a dress that obscured the lighting holes and thus canceled the optical effects. The bodies are attributed to Jumeau or Barrois.
It seems that Rochard's activity ceased around 1875. His dolls could not benefit from the electric lighting invented in 1879 by Edison.
On January 6 in Newport Beach CA, Theriault's sells a 76 cm high Rochard doll with a rotating head, lot 17 estimated $ 80K. It still has 24 of its 28 original 1 x 1.4 mm Stanhope views. The kaleidoscope is missing. This doll is narrated by Florence Theriault in the video shared by Theriault's Dolls.
A New World Record for an Antique Doll Achieved January 6, 2018 https://t.co/HotACIRoik #stanhope #microphotography #rochard pic.twitter.com/O5saiWVe8s
— Theriault's Auctions (@TheriaultsDolls) January 12, 2018
