Early French Photo
1840 The Friend of Niepce and Daguerre
2011 SOLD 70 K€ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
Vincent Chevalier was an optician. His role in the invention of photography was considerable, since he organized themeeting of the two French inventors, Niepce and Daguerre.
When the process of the daguerreotype became public in 1839, Chevalier made photographs of views of Paris in the so-named full plate format, 15 x 20 cm. His work is very rare, simply because this already old pioneer died as early as1841.
Tomorrow on November 11 in Paris, Sotheby's sells a daguerreotype showing the Seine river and the Louvre in 1840, with in the foreground the statue of Henri IV on the Pont Neuf. The image is sharp, for a reason related to both the quality of Chevalier lenses and the total lack of grain in that process of photography on metal.
The only living being is a character in a sleeping position on a bench. Obviously, the plates were not sensitive enough to allow the instantaneous.
The attribution of this photograph to Vincent Chevalier is ensured by the fact that it has retained its original back with the promotional label including the name and address of the optician.
This very old photo of Paris is estimated € 60K, lot 1.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was well targeted. The photo was sold € 70K including premium.
Vincent Chevalier was an optician. His role in the invention of photography was considerable, since he organized themeeting of the two French inventors, Niepce and Daguerre.
When the process of the daguerreotype became public in 1839, Chevalier made photographs of views of Paris in the so-named full plate format, 15 x 20 cm. His work is very rare, simply because this already old pioneer died as early as1841.
Tomorrow on November 11 in Paris, Sotheby's sells a daguerreotype showing the Seine river and the Louvre in 1840, with in the foreground the statue of Henri IV on the Pont Neuf. The image is sharp, for a reason related to both the quality of Chevalier lenses and the total lack of grain in that process of photography on metal.
The only living being is a character in a sleeping position on a bench. Obviously, the plates were not sensitive enough to allow the instantaneous.
The attribution of this photograph to Vincent Chevalier is ensured by the fact that it has retained its original back with the promotional label including the name and address of the optician.
This very old photo of Paris is estimated € 60K, lot 1.
POST SALE COMMENT
The estimate was well targeted. The photo was sold € 70K including premium.
1847 Chemistry and Photography
2016 SOLD for € 255K including premium
The daguerréotype, revealed in France in 1839, is a wonderful technical feat. Meanwhile in England, William Henry Fox Talbot is developing the negative process that will produce multiple prints on paper from a single shoot. Talbot patents the calotype in 1841 and publishes in 1844 Pencil of Nature, the first book illustrated with photographs.
In France photography was offered to the nation. Chemists and artists multiply their experiments without neglecting the study of Talbot's processes. In 1847 Blanquart-Evrard and Guillot-Saguez publish independently of one another their improvements of the calotype.
Twelve years earlier Dr. Guillot, a chemist, had married Amélie Saguez, a painter. The couple used the double name Guillot-Saguez for art and business.
Italy irresistibly appeals the first French photographers for a practical reason. They need a strong sunlight to process their sensitive emulsions extremely slow at that time. The Guillot-Saguez join in 1845 this small community that uses to meet in Rome in the Caffè Greco.
Amélie makes photos. She is the only female artist in the group. In 1847 she assembles in an album 37 salt paper prints to the attention of a woman from whom she feels very close. Several pictures are signed either in the negative or in ink on the photo. This series includes an interesting variety of Roman monuments and themes including the close-up portrait of a pifferaro.
The album is estimated € 200K for sale by Christie's in Paris on November 10, lot 66.
This exceptional set anticipates by four years the four major technical and cultural advances that finally allow photography to compete with lithography as a major technique of illustration : the invention of the wet collodion process by Archer, the creation of the Imprimerie Photographique by Blanquart-Evrard, the foundation of the Société Héliographique and the recognition by the Commission des monuments historiques of the irreplaceable advantage of the photographic accuracy.
In France photography was offered to the nation. Chemists and artists multiply their experiments without neglecting the study of Talbot's processes. In 1847 Blanquart-Evrard and Guillot-Saguez publish independently of one another their improvements of the calotype.
Twelve years earlier Dr. Guillot, a chemist, had married Amélie Saguez, a painter. The couple used the double name Guillot-Saguez for art and business.
Italy irresistibly appeals the first French photographers for a practical reason. They need a strong sunlight to process their sensitive emulsions extremely slow at that time. The Guillot-Saguez join in 1845 this small community that uses to meet in Rome in the Caffè Greco.
Amélie makes photos. She is the only female artist in the group. In 1847 she assembles in an album 37 salt paper prints to the attention of a woman from whom she feels very close. Several pictures are signed either in the negative or in ink on the photo. This series includes an interesting variety of Roman monuments and themes including the close-up portrait of a pifferaro.
The album is estimated € 200K for sale by Christie's in Paris on November 10, lot 66.
This exceptional set anticipates by four years the four major technical and cultural advances that finally allow photography to compete with lithography as a major technique of illustration : the invention of the wet collodion process by Archer, the creation of the Imprimerie Photographique by Blanquart-Evrard, the foundation of the Société Héliographique and the recognition by the Commission des monuments historiques of the irreplaceable advantage of the photographic accuracy.
1851 Le Gray at the time of Viollet-le-Duc and Mérimée
2010 SOLD 90 K€ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
1851 is a key date in the history of photography. The age of the travelers follows that of the scientists. Photography will very quickly spread the actual image of every country in the world.
In March, Frederick Scott Archer publishes in The Chemist the method of wet collodion glass negatives, which enables the production in series of high quality positives. He had worked to it since 1848.
Near Lille, Blanquart-Evrard creates his Imprimerie Photographique and starts editing albums. He develops the technique of salted paper that will produce the best positives of the early paper photography.
Gustave Le Gray is one of those pioneers. Artist and chemist, he invents, also in 1851, the dry wax paper negative.
Fortunately, these advances occur at precisely the time when officials led by Viollet-le-Duc appreciate that the beauty of the monuments must be accompanied by a preservation effort.
Thus, again in 1851, the Commission des Monuments Historiques headed by Merimée organizes a photographic survey of the monuments of France, divided into five zones assigned to five pioneers of photography. Much later, the name of Mission Héliographique is given to this original travel.
The photo of the Pont du Gard by Le Gray, 22 x 33 cm, was made during this trip. A salted paper positive, mounted on its original 47 x 60 cm card and signed, is estimated € 100K, for sale on November 19 at Sotheby's in Paris. It is shown in the press release shared by Artdaily.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result is without passion: € 90K including premium.
1851 is a key date in the history of photography. The age of the travelers follows that of the scientists. Photography will very quickly spread the actual image of every country in the world.
In March, Frederick Scott Archer publishes in The Chemist the method of wet collodion glass negatives, which enables the production in series of high quality positives. He had worked to it since 1848.
Near Lille, Blanquart-Evrard creates his Imprimerie Photographique and starts editing albums. He develops the technique of salted paper that will produce the best positives of the early paper photography.
Gustave Le Gray is one of those pioneers. Artist and chemist, he invents, also in 1851, the dry wax paper negative.
Fortunately, these advances occur at precisely the time when officials led by Viollet-le-Duc appreciate that the beauty of the monuments must be accompanied by a preservation effort.
Thus, again in 1851, the Commission des Monuments Historiques headed by Merimée organizes a photographic survey of the monuments of France, divided into five zones assigned to five pioneers of photography. Much later, the name of Mission Héliographique is given to this original travel.
The photo of the Pont du Gard by Le Gray, 22 x 33 cm, was made during this trip. A salted paper positive, mounted on its original 47 x 60 cm card and signed, is estimated € 100K, for sale on November 19 at Sotheby's in Paris. It is shown in the press release shared by Artdaily.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result is without passion: € 90K including premium.
1852 Dessins Photographiques from Alexandria to Baalbek
2016 SOLD for € 205K including premium
Antique monuments are arousing some intense curiosity in France at the time of romanticism. Flaubert and Du Camp get government grants in 1849 for a trip to the East.
Maxime Du Camp trains in photography for preparing their mission. He is one of the first tourists to understand the increased documentary hit of this technique through the calotype process recently improved by Blanquart-Evrard.
The two young men arrived in Alexandria in November 1849. Gustave was amused by the fury of "Max" to take photos. Their long journey leads them to Karnak, Medinet Habu and Philae. In September 1850 Maxime is photographing Baalbek. Happy with the progress of his project, he sells his camera.
His 214 negative photos are processed in Rome in 1851. The positive prints will be done on papier salé (salt paper), a superb technique that offers an excellent preservation of the images.
Back in Paris, Du Camp prepares his album that will be published in 1852 by Gide et Baudry in folio size 43 x 31 cm under the title Egypte, Nubie, Palestine et Syrie. The author had selected 125 photos which are pasted on strong vellum and accompanied by 61 pages of comments.
This book is extremely rare. A complete copy with all its images in very good condition is estimated € 200K for sale by Christie's in Paris on April 22, lot 73.
The views of Orient by Du Camp are the first consistent collection of travel photographs. The high quality of their printing was still impossible less than five years earlier.
This sudden passion to which he gave no following was a remarkable breakthrough when considering that the project for recording French monuments now designated as the Mission Héliographique dates from 1851, when Du Camp had already completed his "dessins photographiques".
Maxime Du Camp trains in photography for preparing their mission. He is one of the first tourists to understand the increased documentary hit of this technique through the calotype process recently improved by Blanquart-Evrard.
The two young men arrived in Alexandria in November 1849. Gustave was amused by the fury of "Max" to take photos. Their long journey leads them to Karnak, Medinet Habu and Philae. In September 1850 Maxime is photographing Baalbek. Happy with the progress of his project, he sells his camera.
His 214 negative photos are processed in Rome in 1851. The positive prints will be done on papier salé (salt paper), a superb technique that offers an excellent preservation of the images.
Back in Paris, Du Camp prepares his album that will be published in 1852 by Gide et Baudry in folio size 43 x 31 cm under the title Egypte, Nubie, Palestine et Syrie. The author had selected 125 photos which are pasted on strong vellum and accompanied by 61 pages of comments.
This book is extremely rare. A complete copy with all its images in very good condition is estimated € 200K for sale by Christie's in Paris on April 22, lot 73.
The views of Orient by Du Camp are the first consistent collection of travel photographs. The high quality of their printing was still impossible less than five years earlier.
This sudden passion to which he gave no following was a remarkable breakthrough when considering that the project for recording French monuments now designated as the Mission Héliographique dates from 1851, when Du Camp had already completed his "dessins photographiques".
1854 The Truth on Jerusalem
2013 SOLD 463 K€ 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 € 463K 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 € 463K 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.
1856-1857 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
1860 On the Track of the Crusaders
2013 SOLD 200 K€ including premium
PRE SALE DISCUSSION
When we are just over twenty years old, it is the right time to discover the world. In 1859, Louis de Clercq is nominated to join as a photographer the mission of an archaeologist for studying the military fortresses of the Crusaders in Syria.
After five months, when the scholar has completed his work, De Clercq lingers in the East. Passionate about his work, he then photographed Palestine, Egypt and Spain. Back to Paris in 1860, he published the photographs of his trip in fifty copies.
This set entitled Voyage en Orient consists of 222 photographs on albumen paper, including a few panoramic views.The author has assembled six albums in five volumes : the Calvary stations were joined with the Palestine album.
This work is original. It is probably the first photo essay on the Christian military remains in Syria, and the first systematic photo tour of the Via Dolorosa. Moreover, in the great French tradition of photographic archaeological record, his images are perfectly centered on the monument, in a beautiful light.
The copy for sale on December 20 by Vincent Wapler in Paris is exceptional. Having remained up to now in the family of the artist, it is complete and in good condition. It is estimated € 150K.
This estimate is reasonable. On 20 June 2006, Aguttes had sold for € 265K before fees an incomplete set where the album on military forts which had been the primary goal of this beautiful trip was missing.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, € 160K before fees, is in line with the estimate.
When we are just over twenty years old, it is the right time to discover the world. In 1859, Louis de Clercq is nominated to join as a photographer the mission of an archaeologist for studying the military fortresses of the Crusaders in Syria.
After five months, when the scholar has completed his work, De Clercq lingers in the East. Passionate about his work, he then photographed Palestine, Egypt and Spain. Back to Paris in 1860, he published the photographs of his trip in fifty copies.
This set entitled Voyage en Orient consists of 222 photographs on albumen paper, including a few panoramic views.The author has assembled six albums in five volumes : the Calvary stations were joined with the Palestine album.
This work is original. It is probably the first photo essay on the Christian military remains in Syria, and the first systematic photo tour of the Via Dolorosa. Moreover, in the great French tradition of photographic archaeological record, his images are perfectly centered on the monument, in a beautiful light.
The copy for sale on December 20 by Vincent Wapler in Paris is exceptional. Having remained up to now in the family of the artist, it is complete and in good condition. It is estimated € 150K.
This estimate is reasonable. On 20 June 2006, Aguttes had sold for € 265K before fees an incomplete set where the album on military forts which had been the primary goal of this beautiful trip was missing.
POST SALE COMMENT
The result, € 160K before fees, is in line with the estimate.
1862 The Travel of Charnay to the Ruines Américaines
2013 SOLD 225 K€ including premium
Désiré Charnay chose to be an explorer. After an early stay in New Orleans, he returned to Paris to learn photography. He was the first photographer to visit the sites of Yucatan described by Stephens and Catherwood, which were still invaded by uncleared vegetation.
This first Mexican trip lasts three years, from 1857. It's a feat. The collodion negatives on glass, only technique able at that time to withstand the tropical moisture, require an extremely heavy equipment. In addition, after two years, an unfortunate encounter with local militaries destroyed all of his work.
In the following of the Paris school of archaeology, Charnay's interest for monuments must be supported by the largest photographic formats. He returned to Paris with a limited quantity of negatives that however offer a fair encyclopedic vision of Yucatan sites.
On November 17 in Paris, Ader Nordmann sells an album of 45 positive prints on albumen paper, between 27 x 34 and 44 x 34 cm, glued on cardboard according to the custom of the time. This set is estimated over € 200K.
The album simply titled 'Ruines Américaines' was assembled in 1862, most likely during the preparation phase of the first edition under the most attracting title 'Cités et Ruines Américaines' with the prestigious patronage of Viollet-le-Duc. This album includes the most famous picture of the trip, the facade of the palace of Chichen Itza.
This first Mexican trip lasts three years, from 1857. It's a feat. The collodion negatives on glass, only technique able at that time to withstand the tropical moisture, require an extremely heavy equipment. In addition, after two years, an unfortunate encounter with local militaries destroyed all of his work.
In the following of the Paris school of archaeology, Charnay's interest for monuments must be supported by the largest photographic formats. He returned to Paris with a limited quantity of negatives that however offer a fair encyclopedic vision of Yucatan sites.
On November 17 in Paris, Ader Nordmann sells an album of 45 positive prints on albumen paper, between 27 x 34 and 44 x 34 cm, glued on cardboard according to the custom of the time. This set is estimated over € 200K.
The album simply titled 'Ruines Américaines' was assembled in 1862, most likely during the preparation phase of the first edition under the most attracting title 'Cités et Ruines Américaines' with the prestigious patronage of Viollet-le-Duc. This album includes the most famous picture of the trip, the facade of the palace of Chichen Itza.
> 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
