Charles Chusseau-Flaviens

Charles Chusseau-Flaviens (13 February 1866 – 15 October 1928) was a self-employed French photojournalist from the 1890s to the 1910s. His distribution of other photographer's work for publication created one of the first photo press agencies,[2] based in Paris.[3] Chusseau-Flaviens' by-line appeared on numerous photographs from all over Europe as well as from Africa, the Middle East, the Far East and North America.[4] Subject matters included formal and informal portraits of European royalty, political figures and celebrities in addition to scenes of daily life. According to researchers, no biographical information about Chusseau-Flaviens is known.[5]

Charles Chusseau-Flaviens
Chusseau-Flaviens in his office in the 1890s
Born(1866-02-13)13 February 1866[1]
Died15 October 1928(1928-10-15) (aged 62)[1]

A substantial portion of his photographic collection, represented by nearly 11,000 glass negatives, was donated by Kodak Pathé to the George Eastman House (GEH) International Museum of Photography and Film in 1974.[3] GEH noted that Chusseau-Flaviens also acquired copies of photographs from other photographers, annotating their names on his glass negatives.[3] They speculated that this accounts for the inclusion of photographs in his collection from various far-flung nations, such as Japan and New Zealand.[3] According to the French Ministry of Culture, his release of the other photographer's work under the Chusseau-Flaviens name created the first photographic press agency of the 20th century.[6]

Countries represented in the GEH photographic collection include: Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Ceylon, China, Denmark, Djibouti, Egypt, England, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Majorca, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Philippines, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, United States and Yugoslavia.[4] Due to the relative lack of photographs representing France, it has been speculated that a large portion of Chusseau-Flaviens' work remains undiscovered.[3]

Journals in which Chusseau-Flaviens images appeared include Ilustraçāo Portugueza,[3] L'Illustration,[2] The Illustrated London News,[7] Le Monde and The Graphic.[8]

Collections edit

In addition to the George Eastman House (with ca. 11 000 glass negatives), photos attributed to Chusseau-Flaviens are preserved in the Musee Nicéphore-Niépce (ca. 4 500 prints), Musée d'Orsay (22 autochromes), and the Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand (150 photographs).[6]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d Chusseau-Flaviens, Charles (1866–1928). National Library of France
  2. ^ a b Gervais, Thierry (6 November 2007). L'Illustration Photographique (in French). École des hautes études en sciences sociales (doctoral thesis). pp. 284–316.
  3. ^ a b c d e f Eskind, A. (January 1999). "Ch. Chusseau-Flaviens". George Eastman House Collection. www.geh.org. Archived from the original on 10 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  4. ^ a b Eskind, A. (September 2001). "Ch. Chusseau-Flaviens". George Eastman House Collection. www.geh.org. Archived from the original on 23 April 2012. Retrieved 24 March 2012.
  5. ^ Dimock, George (September 2001). "The Sunset of the Old World: A Portfolio from the Work of C. Chusseau Flaviens" (PDF). Image. 21 (1): 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Collection photographique de Charles Chusseau-Flaviens" (PDF). Patrimoine Numerique. www.numerique.culture.fr.
  7. ^ "The Illustrated London News 1903". The London Illustrated News. iln.org.uk. Retrieved 13 June 2012.
  8. ^ "1909 King Peter War Map Photograph Chusseau Flaviens". Amazon.com. 9 September 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2012.

External links edit