Views of Mexico during the French intervention, circa 1864

View only results with digital items
Printable guide [HTML]

Summary

Title:
Views of Mexico during the French intervention
Dates:
circa 1864
Abstract:
The album contains 42 albumen photographs of Mexican cities taken during the period known as the French intervention in Mexico by an unidentified photographer who signed some of the photographs with the intials E. L. Cities and towns represented include San Luis Potosi, Aguascalientes, San Juan de los Lagos, León, Dolores Hidalgo, Celaya, Querétaro, San Juan del Rio, La Cañada, Tepeji-del-Rio, San Cristóbal (Estado de Mexico), Mexico City, Puebla, Orizaba, and Veracruz.
Extent:
1 Linear Feet (1 album containing 42 photographs)
Language:
French .
Preferred citation:

Views of Mexico during the French Intervention, circa 1864, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 95.R.2.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/collection133VV4

Background

Scope and content:

The album contains 42 albumen photographs of Mexican cities taken during the period known as the French intervention in Mexico (1861-1867) when the French invaded and ruled Mexico, establishing Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, as Emperor of Mexico. The images are arranged in roughly geographical order from north to south, going from Guadalupe, Zacatecas to the gulf port of Veracruz and following what would have been the return route of the French campaign trail through Mexico. Cities and towns represented include San Luis Potosi, Aguascalientes, San Juan de los Lagos, León, Dolores Hidalgo, Celaya, Querétaro, San Juan del Rio, La Cañada, Tepeji-del-Rio, San Cristóbal (Estado de Mexico), Mexico City, Puebla, Orizaba, and Veracruz. Present are five views each of Aguascalientes and Querétaro and thirteen views of Mexico City.

The images are mainly of exterior architectural views, especially churches and municipal palaces. Public places such as streets, plazas, and parks are also well represented. Puebla and Orizaba are each portrayed in two panoramic views.

Two photographs portray the early public utilities and transportation systems still in use in nineteenth-century Mexico City. One of these photographs depicts flat boats in the Viga Canal used to transport produce from Xochimilco to the center of the city; the other shows the fountainhead of the Belen aqueduct which brought water from Chapultepec to the city.

The French presence in Mexico is evidenced in the inclusion of images of the Palacio de Chapultepec and the temple of Santa Cruz in Querétaro, which Maximilian used as his headquarters from 13 March to 15 May 1867 in his last stand against the Mexican Republican troops, and where he was subsequently imprisoned prior to his execution. Also included is a view of the monument to the French soldiers who were killed in an attack on their stagecoach at Arroyo-Zarco in 1863.

Biographical / historical:

Although the photographer of this album has not been identified, the content, organization, and the fact that a print of the Arroyo-Zarco image can also be found in an album compiled by Louis Falconnet, (Getty Research Institute, accession no. 93.R.20), suggests that the maker of the images in this album was a member of the French military force in Mexico. The initials E. L. in the negatives could be those of Ernest Louet, the pay-master for the French military.

Acquisition information:
Acquired in 1995.
Processing information:

Cataloged by Beth Ann Guynn in 1995 who wrote the finding aid in 2024.

Arrangement:

Arranged in a single series: Series I. Views of Mexico during the French intervention, circa 1864.

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

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Beth Ann Guynn
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2024-10-11 10:57:29 -0700 .

Access and use

Terms of access:

Contact Library Reproductions and Permissions.

Preferred citation:

Views of Mexico during the French Intervention, circa 1864, The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles, Accession no. 95.R.2.

http://hdl.handle.net/10020/collection133VV4

Location of this collection:
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, CA 90049-1688, US
Contact:
(310) 440-7390
Website