Charles Nègre (French, 1820-1880)
Notre-Dame, Paris, circa 1853
Waxed paper negative
33.8 x 23.9 cm
Partial watermark "J WHATMAN"

From his high vantage point in the afternoon light Charles Nègre (1820-1880) obtained this unobstructed view of the towers and portals, a position isolating the monument as a unified work of art within the image’s frame. The images show the stained glass removed from the central rose window, and a wooden cover and scaffolding surrounding the central portal, both of which date to when the cathedral’s façade underwent restorations starting in 1853. Both the negative and the variant positive, are the result of a separate exposure. Considered together the photographs offer insight into Nègre's working process, making multiple exposures of varying length in similar optimum lighting conditions and refining and revising his technique in an attempt to do justice to his subject.

Charles Nègre (French, 1820-1880)
Notre-Dame, Paris, circa 1853
Salt print from a paper negative
32.8 x 23.2 cm mounted on 33.0 x 23.4 cm modern rag paper
Inscribed "Coll. André Jammes" and "B30 / #46" by André Jammes in pencil on mount verso.

Together with the variant negative

Édouard-Denis Baldus (French, 1813-1889)
"Tarascon. Viaduc", 1855
Albumen print from a paper negative
36.2 x 54.0 cm mounted on 45.5 x 60.8 cm paper
Title and signature "E. Baldus" stamped on mount

Édouard-Denis Baldus (French, 1813-1889)
Church of Saint-Pierre, Caen, 1858
Salt print from a glass negative
43.9 x 33.6 cm

Gustave Le Gray and Auguste Mestral (French, 1820-1884 & 1812-1844)
West façade of Saint-Pierre de Loupiac, Aquitaine
Albumen print, late 1850s, from a paper negative, 1851
31.9 x 22.7 cm
Illegible inscription in the negative

From the Mission héliographique. Negative is in the collections of the Musée d'Orsay.

Charles Nègre (French, 1820-1880)
Entrée de la Bibliothèque du Louvre, 1855
Coated salt print from an albumen on glass negative
33.6 x 24.1 cm on 34.9 x 25.3 cm paper

Captain Linnaeus Tripe (English, 1822-1902)
The Great Pagoda, Munduppum, Madura, India, January-March 1858
Albumenized salt print from a waxed paper negative
36.6 x 30.6 cm

Alfred Backhouse (English, 1823-1888)
"Near Nice", before 1856
Coated salt or light albumen print from a paper negative
21.4 x 27.5 cm mounted on 27.0 x 33.7 cm paper
Titled in pencil on mount

Dr. Hugh Welch Diamond (English, 1809-1886)
Arched doorway "Stone, Kent", 1850s
Calotype negative, waxed
20.5 x 16.4 cm
Titled in ink on verso

Charles Marville (French, 1813-1879)
Interior of a Cathedral, circa 1864
Albumen print from a collodion negative
36.0 x 28.0 cm mounted on 61.2 x 43.9 cm paper
Photographer's blindstamp "CH MARVILLE / PHOTOGRAPHE DU MUSÉE IMPERIAL DU LOUVRE" on mount

Édouard Baldus or Bisson Frères (French, 1813-1889 or Louis-Auguste & Auguste-Rosalie Bisson, 1814-1876 & 1826-1900)
Interior at Versailles, 1850s
Salt print from a glass negative
42.4 x 29.0 cm

Captain Linnaeus Tripe (English, 1822-1902)
Tsagain Myo, Ruined Tazoung, Burma, 1855
Albumenized salt print from a waxed paper negative
26.6 x 34.6 cm