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photographic prints. Lithophotography was real prog-
ress and it easy to do. It was also less dangerous than
the previous processes, and more suitable to industrial
production, but because of the grainy stone, details lost
their precision. By founding this photographic printing,
Lemercier tried to fulfi l the wish, announced in 1851,
of the Société heliographique. The request was to have
a photographic printer in the company itself to produce
the images of photographers and commissioned project
studies, which had typically been failing because of a
lack of means.
In 1855, Alphonse Poitevin (1819–1882) improved
the process and utilized it in his studio until 1857.
Named photolithography, his process was based on the
mix of albumin and bichromate of potassium propriety
to retain, after exposure to light, the printing ink. The
bichromate gum has been a decisive discovery of Poite-
vin’s and a tremendous progress for photography in that
it was easier to prepare and more accurate in results,
and so it took the place of the bitumen of Jude in the
sensitive processes of the printing plates. On October
27, 1857, for reason of poor management of business,
Lemercier bought Poitevin’s studio and patent, and used
photolithography in his printing house. They created
together a society in collective name for the utilization
of the process. The profi ts were split down the middle.
The society was later divided in February 1867. Corine
Bouquin and Sylvie Aubenas showed that the use of the
patent would unfortunately reveal itself barely profi t-
able, the stress of which put the two men at odds with
each other. In 1859, Poitevin began legal proceedings
against Lemercier for not having put the complete title
“Procédé Poitevin” on the bottom of the plates, instead
putting only “P. Poitevin,” and for paying less than the
full cost of the patent. The judge ruled in January 1860,
in favour of Poitevin.
Several photographers gave their negatives to
Lemercier to print their images, like Bisson brothers,
and Julien Vallou de Villeneuve, but this production
stayed experimental or limited. Lemercier never really
exploited his process. However, he developed the photo-
lithography to illustrate scientifi c and artistic books.
Two albums were published thanks to this technique:
Le Sérapéum de Memphis by Auguste Mariette in 1857,
created from Charles Marville’s and Paul Berthier’s
negatives (30 plates); the book of Jules Labarte Histoire
des Arts Industriels (1864–1866) about decorative arts,
created from the negatives of Marville and Berthier
(150 plates).
Lemercier also printed images which were not
lithophotography but photographic prints. The Bisson
brothers made L’œuvre de Rembrandt reproduit par la
photographie, décrit et commenté par Charles Blanc (60
plates) and Choix d’ornements arabes de l’Alhambra
offrant dans leur ensemble une synthèse de l’ornemen-
tation mauresque en Espagne au XIIIe siècle reproduit
par MM. Bisson frères (19 plates) in 1853 in Lemer-
cier’s studio. As well as twelve images included in the
Monographie de Notre-Dame de Paris et de la nouvelle
sacristie de MM. Lassus et Viollet-le-Duc published
the same year. In 1857, Lemercier also edited prints
of Varroquier’s and the series of stereoscopic views
of Furne and Tournier’s, who settled in the studio at
rue de Seine two years later. The subjects were genre
studies and living compositions of trade and craft, like
farmers, launderess, blacksmith, hitchers, landscapes,
mythology recomposed, models of nudes, scenes from
operas, interiors of artist studios, taverns, and oriental
interiors.
Photolithography was practice until about 1867 in
Lemercier’s studios, “putting his press at the service
of clichés of authors at the same price conditions as
ordinary lithography” write Joly-Grangedor in 1871
(BSFP 1871, 110.) The same year, Poitevin won the
great duc de Luynes competition for his process of
photolithography and Lemercier received a medal from
the SFP for his works on his technique. But because
it was not cost effi cient, the process was fl awed, and
in December 1866, Lemercier complained to Poitevin
of not making any profi ts off his patent. Poitevin later
made an agreement with Cyprien Tessié du Mothay, as-
sociated with Charles Maréchal, who bought in March
1867 the rights of Poitevin. Lemercier, who did so much
for photolithgraphy modifi ed it into phototypy which
yielded superior images. In 1873, Lemercier bought the
patent of Albert of Munich’s process of “Albertypy” and
uses it until 1887. He also practiced photoglypty in his
establishment. He presented prints in 1881 at the Ring
of bookshop exhibition and in 1882 at the photographic
exhibition of the Central union of decorative arts. He
was awarded, at this exhibition a gold medal. Also, in
1879, Lemercier participated in the Léon Vidal lectures
on industrials reproductions of works of art which took
place on Wednesday at the National School of the Deco-
rative Arts, stating, “Thanks to the obliged support of
the Lemercier & Cie house, photoglyptic experiences
could have been made in the presence of the pupils of
the School” (Le Moniteur de la photographie, March
1, 1879, 33–34).
In 1887, he donated to the Société française de pho-
tographie an album of Algeria and Tunisia views. He
died in Paris in January the same year.
In spite of his efforts, Lemercier stayed with the
lithograph, and thus photography for him, never took a
real importance in his printing house. Photolithography
and the following processes born from this, remained
as images printed on a plate, which represented a re-
treat in relation to wood engravings printed in text and,