Le fonds photographique du musée de l'Armée (The photographic archives of the War Museum)

Created in 1896 at the same time as the Historical War Museum,
the library is rich in over 50.000 photographs covering the
period from 1848 up to present day. The most important
collections are those of General Vanson (6000 prints on military
life between 1854 and 1900); the collection of Colonel Nicolas
Langlois (in 1856 at Biskra he bought the prints of the
photographer Moulin who had come to carry out a photographic
survey); that of abbé Misset (2000 photographs featuring the
house of the emperor and the Imperial Army); that of baron
Philippe de Bourgoing (700 prints taken between 1855 and 1871
and the album of the camp at Châlons by Gustave Le Gray
dedicated to general Leipic) and finally the Brunon collection
(several thousand negatives and prints on french military
uniforms and history in the 19th and 20th centruries). Mention
should be made of collections put together by amateurs with
their personal photographs: those of Doctor Le Play, the
painter/photographer Charles Hallo (2000 aerial photographs of
the First World War). War Photography understandably form the
largest part of the archives. These collections concern Crimean
War (Fenton, Méhédin, Durand-Brager and Lassimone); the Algerian
campaigns (Moulin) and Mexico (Aubert, Lt. Château between 1882
and 1889); the 1870-1871 War (Winter, Eckert, Baudelaire/Saglio
and Peter/Mandar and Mugnier, Sarrault); the 1914-1918 war
(30.000 documents). The period after 1918 is far less
represented in the collection. (Magazines Summary)


Citaten:
Humbert, J.-M. / Dumarche, L.: Photographies anciennes, 1848-1918, Regards sur le soldat et la société (1985)
Humbert, J.-F.: Édouard Detaille (1979)
Documentos graficos para la historia de Mexico (1986)
Armor, R. d': Nos folies de Saint-Maixant (1895)
Pascal, D.: Les Débuts du Service photographique des armées (Prestige de la Photographie #2, 1977, sept.)
Humbert, J.-F.: L'Iconographie dans le message visuel du musée de l'Armee de Paris (1983)
Virilio, P.: Guerre et cinéma 1, logistique de la perception (1984)
Soldat et société (1986, exh.cat.)