Potteau (Jacques-Philippe) Portraits of Algerian Soldiers, 1863

View only results with digital items

Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Title:

Jacques-Philippe Potteau Portraits of Algerian Soldiers for the Collection anthropologique du Muséum de Paris

Dates:

1863

Creators:

Potteau, Jacques-Philippe, 1807-1876

Abstract:

The 20 frontal and profile portraits of ten Algerian soldiers who visited Paris in 1863 were taken by Philippe-Jacques Potteau as part of his larger anthropological project for the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, known as the Collection anthropologique du Muséum de Paris (1855-1869). Seven pairs of photographs are of soldiers from the 3rd Regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs, an infantry corps, and three pairs depict soldiers from the 2nd and 3rd Regiments of Algerian Spahis, or light cavalry units.

Extent:

1.33 Linear Feet (20 photographs in 1 box)

Language:

Collection material is in French.

Preferred citation:

Jacques-Philippe Potteau Portraits of Algerian Soldiers for the Collection anthropologique du Muséum de Paris, 1863, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 2018.R.27.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa2018r27

Background

Scope and content:

The 20 frontal and profile photographic portraits of ten Algerian soldiers who visited Paris in 1863 were taken by Philippe-Jacques Potteau as part of his larger anthropological project for the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle, known as the Collection anthropologique du Muséum de Paris (1855-1869). Seven pairs of photographs are of soldiers from the 3rd Regiment of Algerian Tirailleurs, an infantry corps, and three pairs depict soldiers from the 2nd and 3rd Regiments of Algerian Spahis, or light cavalry units.

Handwritten on the mounts below the albumen photographs is data related to the specific sitter including, variously, name (used in this finding aid as the photograph's title), age (or birth date), rank or occupation, place of birth and ethnic background. The information is not uniformly present, suggesting a less than exacting documentation process, and the data for the Algerian soldiers is, for the most part, less complete than that found on the portraits of Potteau's more illustrious sitters. Nevertheless, these portraits with their annotated mounts are important examples of early French colonial ethnography.

The photographs are dated on their mounts: Phot. en 1863. The photographs were almost certainly printed before 1872 (when Potteau gave his negatives to the Muséum de Paris for safekeeping), as they present his printing style, derived from Gustave Le Gray, of cutting the corners of the prints on the diagonal.

Arrangement

Arranged in a single series: Series I: Jacques-Philippe Potteau Portraits of Algerian Soldiers for the Collection anthropologique du Muséum de Paris, 1863.

Biographical / historical:

Jacques-Philippe Potteau was a member of the anthropology department of the Muséum d'histoire naturelle, Paris. Between 1860 and 1869 he made a series of ethnographic portraits for the museum under the collective title Collection anthropologique du Muséum de Paris. In 1862 Potteau succeeded Louis Rousseau as the departmental photographer. Potteau never accompanied scientific expeditions, but rather organized sittings for members of official groups visiting Paris and other persons in his own studio. His subjects were largely diplomatic delegates or soldiers, and, less frequently, musicians, domestic servants and members of the lower social ranks. Potteau showed his work at the London Photography Exhibit in 1862 and 1863, and at the 1863 Paris International Photography Exhibit.

Acquisition information:

Acquired in 2018.

Processing information:

In 2018 Beth Ann Guynn processed the collection and wrote the finding aid.

Physical location:

Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record for this collection. Click here for the access policy.

Rules or conventions:

Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Subjects:: Photography in ethnology
Algerians -- Portraits
Albumen prints--France--19th century.
Studio portraits -- France -- 19th century
Photographs, Original.

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:: Beth Ann Guynn
Date Encoded:: This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2019-08-19 15:28:51 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:: Open for use by qualified researchers.
Terms of access:: Contact Library Reproductions and Permissions.