Alphonse POITEVIN (1819-1882). Arc de triomphe, detail of Fr - Lot 71

Alphonse POITEVIN (1819-1882). Arc de triomphe, detail of François Rude's bas-relief "La Marseillaise", Paris, circa 1855. Unmounted salted paper print, 27.3 x 21.2 cm. Gold toning. On the back of the print: "Photographie prise par mon grand père Alphonse Poitevin inventeur. Offered by his grandson Jean Poitevin to Lisette Baudet on September 3, 1933". Folds and wetness on verso. Louis-Alphonse Poitevin, French chemical engineer and photographer, is rightly considered by his peers to be the third man of photography, on a par with Niépce and Daguerre. He invented a number of photographic processes, including photolithography, the first image-reproducing process, the cyanotype, unalterable charcoal photography and a color printing process using fatty inks.