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of the well-known professional photographers of St.
Petersburg. In 1862 he left Russia. In 1864 he opened a
photographic studio in Wurzburg which remained until
his death in 1896.
Alexei Loginov
DAVANNE, LOUIS-ALPHONSE
(1824–1912)
French chemist, photographer, and innovator
Davanne was born in Paris, France on 12 April 1824.
Davanne was a chemist and an important innovator in
photographic processes. From 1852 onward, he spent
much of the following 50 years experimenting with meth-
ods that led to more permanent photographic printing. In
collaboration with Barreswill, Lerebours and Lemercier,
he worked to make a photolithographic process perform
better using bitumen of Judea. He also invented several
new types of cameras and photographic equipment. In
1856 he was a founding member of the Société française
de photographie (S.F.P.). Davanne served on its board
and as vice-president, chairman, and honorary president.
He took photographs of Versailles and presented to the
Institute a portfolio of lithographs from negatives by Le
Secq, based on photographs of Versailles.
The calotype was a diffi cult artistic process, often
affected by chance whose effects could be unintention-
ally and easily modifi ed during printing, and was not a
big commercial success. The technique spread however
thanks to personal contacts and exchanges between
practitioners, and this process’s advancement was fa-
cilitated in the 1850s by photographic exhibitions. The
creation in Paris in 1851 of the Société héliographique,
the fi rst gathering of amateur photographers (mostly
calotypist), was a particular response to this need of
sharing information about this uncertain technique. This
meeting allowed a space for sharing methods and tips,
and a forum through which photographer could discuss
recent improvements. A little group was also formed in
the neighborhood of Chalon-sur-Saône, in Burgundy,
where Nicéphore Niépce had been located, consisting of
Petiot-Grofi er, the mayor of the town (who accompanied
his master Baldus at the Auvergne in 1854), and Eduard
Loydreau, archeologist and mayor of Chagny. Another
group was formed at the Sèvres works around Victor
Regnault, consisting of a physician who had become
director of the company in 1852, and included among
others Louis Robert, head of the painting workshop, E.
Béranger, and J. Diéterle. An additional third group de-
veloped at the ‘Caffé Greco’ in Rome, appearing around
1850, which included G. Caneva, Count Flachéron,
Eugène Constant, and Alfred Normand, to whom one
might also add Alphonse Davanne and Thomas Sutton,
who participated briefl y.
The technical industrialization of photography
during the 1860s meant that around 1875 albumen
prints had become the standard to be superseded in
turn in the 1890s by gelatin-bromide prints. As from
1855, many people like Baldus, Fenton, Le Secq
and Davanne tried to overcome the problem of the
non-permanence of photographic prints by using the
photogravure process.
From 1854 to 1863 he worked with Aimé Girard
(1830–1898) on a study of the means of formation and
constitution of positive photographic images. In 1857
he had an exhibition together with Aimé Girard.
He received the gold medal within the framework of
the Prix du Duc de Luynes in 1859 for this collabora-
tive work. Together they researched the permanence of
photographic positives and later published their results
in 1864. In 1855 however, Davanne created a rotating
bellows camera, which was later constructed by Re-
landin. Additionally Davanne invented a portable fi eld
camera, 18 × 23 cm format, which was constructed by
Koch in Paris.
In the 1860s, photographers recorded the localities,
their infrastructure, and the indigenous people living
there. Alphonse Davanne did this as well and published a
series of photographs of Tréport, Dieppe, Trouville, and
Le Havre in addition to the large number of individual
stereoscopic views in circulation.
In 1861 his images of the Pyrenees and of Menton were
shown in an exhibition and in 1862 he illustrated “‘l’Hiver
à Menton” by Alphonse de Longperier-Grimoard.
From 1863 onward however, his photography became
more concerned with the theory of physical develop-
ment, the Taupenot process, the cause of changes in
positive prints, alcline developing and experiments with
Chardon emulsion.
In 1863–1864, in yet another exhibition, Davanne
showed his view of Normandy. In 1864 he received the
Prix de Duc de Luynes. In 1865–1870 he wrote parts of
the Photographic Yearbook to be published by Gauthier-
Villars. From 1866 until 1876 he was vice-president of
Société française de photographie. In 1867 he invented
a focimeter, which was constructed by Secretan and
by this time, he had become a member of the Duc de
Luynes award committee.
The kings of France took an early interest in the build-
ing and unkeep of roads and public works, mainly with
the aim of benefi ting commerce. In 1747, a school, the
Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées, was created, providing
special training, linked at fi rst to the Administration des
Mines (1817) then later to the Ministère des Travaux
Publics (1839). Engineers examined the various aspects
of their work in France, focusing on the design, con-
struction and the use of highways, waterways, and rail-
ways. Ecole des Ponts et Chaussées was a particularly
intense center for learning and education, and through
DAUTHENDEY, KARL
