603
manufacturing activities, be they related to photo or
print publishing. Driven by steam and electricity, the
Asnières plant embodied modernity—but not from a
social viewpoint: in 1880, of the 107 persons working
there, nine were children.
In the most logical way, considering its experience
in print publishing, the fi rm’s interest in photomechani-
cal processes began early. In 1853, it was part of the
photolithography venture and co-published the Premier
Cahier de Lithophotographie (6 stunning plates obtained
with the Lemercier, Lerebours, Barreswil and Davanne
process, from negatives by Le Secq). In 1867, Goupil
bought from Walter Woodbury an exclusive license for
the exploitation in France of the Woodburytype process.
In 1870, he sold back secondary licenses to Lemercier
and Braun. Meanwhile, the Asnières factory produced
Woodburytypes on an industrial level. A single worker
could print 500 copies of the same image in one day.
Surprisingly, Goupil did not advertise the process in
his catalogues, whereas he could have promoted its
permanency, which was a major issue at the time. For
Goupil, Woodburytype was more a step forward indus-
trialization than a victory over the self-degradation of
albumen silver prints. Both processes always co-existed,
and the same reference in the Carte de visite or Galerie
photographique series may often be found both as al-
bumen prints and Woodburytypes. The selection of the
process probably depended upon the quantity of prints
needed at a given time. The excellent quality achieved
at Asnières led other publishers to commission Goupil
for their own productions—as was the case for Baschet’s
famous Galerie contemporaine (1876–1884).
Goupil stopped producing Woodburytypes at the
beginning of the 1880’s. Meanwhile, Rousselon had
perfected another photomechanical process, the pho-
togravure. This was another demonstration of Goupil’s
modernity: constant experimentation and refi nement
of technologies, developed in-house. Rousselon was
encouraged to work on a photomechanical process
compatible with intaglio printing. Capitalizing on
Woodbury discoveries, he found a way to obtain a
special grain on the dichromate gelatin, suitable for
retaining ink. This grain appeared on the subsequent
lead mold, which was itself copied on a copper plate
by electrotyping. Rousselon presented his process at the
Société Française de Photographie in 1872 (seven years
before Karel Klič’s process), and Goupil released his
fi rst photogravures in 1873. The results were superb;
no other fi rm ever achieved such quality and accuracy,
neither in Europe nor in the United States. The pro-
cess earned many awards in international exhibitions
throughout the decade. Thousands of photogravures
reproducing artworks were mass-produced, along with
a few topographical photographs, such as those illustrat-
ing Auguste Mariette’s Voyage dans la Haute Égypte
(1878). Other publishers, especially Americans (Gebbie
& Barrie, and Appleton), commissioned photogravure
printing from Goupil; in the United States, the process
was often called “Goupilgravure.” As with any intaglio
plate, these could be printed with several colors (up to
20), offering dramatic results. This was the case for the
luxury portfolio Les Dessins de Auguste Rodin (1897,
125 copies).
Rousselon retired in 1884, to be replaced by a
young Italian engineer, Michel Manzi (1849–1915),
who, from 1897 to his death, co-directed the company
with Maurice Joyant (1864–1930). Manzi introduced
a photomechanical process of his own: typogravure.
Based upon block printing, similar to half-tone pro-
cesses, it allowed simultaneous printing of photograph
and text. Thenceforward, the Maison Goupil published
photographically illustrated books and magazines: Le
Figaro Illustré (1890), Les Sports Modernes (1898),
Le Théâtre (1898), Les Modes (1901), Les Arts (1902),
and L’Hygiène (1909). However, in spite of this shift
in its publishing policy, the fi rm slowly declined and
failed to survive World War I and Manzi’s death. Both
the academic art they promoted and the very products
they manufactured were out of fashion. After forming
the most signifi cant part of the media explosion of the
19th century, reproductive prints and photographs, sold
either as individual plates, or in series or portfolios,
had virtually disappeared, a circumstance fraught with
consequences for the dissemination of art, as well as
for its production.
Pierre-Lin Renié
See also: Copyright; Colnaghi, Paul and Dominic;
Agnew, Thomas, and Sons; Talbot, William Henry
Fox; Teynard, Félix; Delessert, Edouard and
Benjamin; Le Gray, Gustave; Le Secq, Henri; Baldus,
Édouard; Bisson, Louis-Auguste and Auguste-
Rosalie; Giroux, André ; Martens, Friedrich ;
Vigier, Vicomte Joseph; Nègre, Charles; Cartes-de-
Visite; Cabinet Cards; Braun, Adolphe; Bingham,
Robert J.; Albumen Print; Wet Collodion Negative;
Photolithography; Davanne, Louis-Alphonse;
Lemercier, Lerebours, and Barreswil; Woodbury,
Walter Bentley; Woodburytype, Woodburygravure;
Galerie contemporaine (1876–1884); Photogravure;
Société Française de Photographie; Half-tone
Printing; Archaeology; Architecture; France;
Permanency; Photographic publishers; Photography
of paintings; Photography and reproduction.Further Reading
Bigorne, Régine, “La casa Goupil e il gusto borghese,” La
borghesia allo specchio. Il culto dell’immagine dal 1860
al 1920, Milan: Silvana Editoriale, 2004, 43–53 (exhibition
catalogue).