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In 1851, a group of artists, writers, and photographers
got together and formed the fi rst photographic society
in the world: the Société héliographique française. The
creation of this photographic society was a landmark
moment in the evolution of photography and impor-
tant for its history. It was a network of people excited
about the possibilities of the calotype and interested
in exchanging both chemical and artistic skills, which
contributed to the expansion and development of
photography through exhibitions, members’ projects
such as La Mission Héliographique, and the review,
La Lumière.
The 1850s was a time when many different groups
were being established and efforts were being made to
legitimize the new medium. The objective of the soci-
ety was to unite those involved in the new process and
to exchange ideas. The Société héliographique was an
important development for the growth and recognition
of photography because it promoted the medium.
The society was formed by Baron de Montfort in
January of 1851 in Paris, France and its fi rst president
was Baron Gros, a diplomat and photographer. The
group was made up of mostly photographers, amateur
and advanced, as well as painters, writers, scholars,
and public fi gures. The society’s board included Hip-
polyte Bayard, Edmond Becquerel, Benjamin Delessert,
Eugène Durieu, Mestral, Léon de Laborde, Claude-
Marie-François Niépce of Saint-Victor, Jules-Claude
Ziegler and Baron de Montfort himself. Many of
master photographer Gustave Le Gray’s students, as
well as students of painter Eugène Delacroix’s, were
members; both of these artists were also members. Ad-
ditional members included Olympe Aguado, Arnoux,
Aussandon, Edouard Baldus, Barre, Champfleury,
Charles Chevalier, Cousin, Desmaisons, Fortier, Count
of Hassounville, Horeau, Lemaître, Henri Le Secq,
Noël-Marie-Paymal Lerebours, Leisse, Frédéric Bour-
geois de Mercey, Montesquiou, Prince of Montléart,
Emile Peccarère, Viscount Adolphe of Poncéau, Peuch,
Puille, Victor Regnault, Schlumberger, FrançoisAuguste
Renard, Viscount Joseph Vigier and Francis Wey.
The headquarters of the society was at Baron de
Montfort’s home, 15 rue de l’Arcade in Paris. The top
fl oor of the building contained meeting rooms as well
as rooms closed off for developing and experimenting
in the new medium and an outside terrace for members’
use. The building also had a shop, owned by Mr. Peuch,
which sold photographic materials.
Members were united with a common cause which
was to endorse photography through exhibitions, share
technical information, publish reviews and more. They
met frequently to work on developing the technique.
Lengthy discussions took place and served as a way
to pass along skills and knowledge of the technique.
Beyond the regular informal get-togethers, the society
had “photography soirées” at the Baron de Montfort’s
home or at other members’ homes.
The society also held exhibitions, notably an opening
exhibition in January of 1851 as well as an exhibition
which included a portfolio “intended to illustrate the
best French photography” by Charles Nègre titled Little
Ragpicker (Pare, 228). The society also assembled a
collection of photographs in the form of albums.
The weekly magazine, La Lumière, was a signifi cant
part of the society and prospered even after the society
ended. Under the direction of both Francis Wey, who
served as head of the society for part of its existence,
and Ernest Lacan, La Lumière reviewed exhibitions as
well as members’ work and even recorded the society’s
meetings. While reporting on photographic projects of
the time, La Lumière expressed the great enthusiasm
for the medium that the members shared in the Société
héliographique. The magazine existed from 1851 to
1860 and remains a very important document for the
medium’s history of the time period, and certainly for
the history of the Société héliographique.
Since the 1850s was an important time for the ad-
vancement of photography, the Société héliographique
played an important role in its progress. For example,
fi ve members of the society—Gustave Le Gray, Mes-
tral, Édouard Baldus, Hippolyte Bayard and Henri
Le Secq—became the group that formed the Mission
Héliographique, commissioned by the government’s
Commission of Historical Monuments. One of the
leading members of the Commission, Léon de Laborde,
was also a member of the Société héliographique. The
mission’s goal was to send these fi ve photographers
across France to document important French architec-
tural structures. This effort, a large proportion of which
was produced by using le Gray’s waxed paper process,
was an attempt to record French cultural heritage and
began shortly after the foundation of the Société hé-
liographique. La Lumière reported with great fervor and
praise for the project.
British photographer, Roger Fenton who had studied
in Paris under painter Delaroche from 1841–1843, went
back to France in 1851 to study the structure and orga-
nization of the newly created Société héliographique.
The following year he drafted a proposal for a photo-
graphic society back in Britain and eventually founded
the London Photographic Society in 1853.
The Société héliographique française dissolved in
1854 and became the Société française de photographie
which still exists today. As for the end of this group,
photography historian Michel Frizot explains in “Calo-
typists circles,” that “this “secession” may be related
to the change in technique from paper to glass nega-
tives and the need for better organization of meetings,
which remained informal and friendly” (A New History
of Photography, Frizot, 70). The group was informal