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Finding Aid for the George Pélissier Photographs and Papers, 1872-1925
94.R.66  
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Collection Details
 
Table of contents What's This?
  • Descriptive Summary
  • Biographical/Historical Note
  • Administrative Information
  • Scope and Content of Collection
  • Indexing Terms

  • Descriptive Summary

    Title: Georges Pélissier Photographs and Papers
    Date (inclusive): ca. 1872-1925
    Number: 94.R.66
    Creator/Collector: Pélissier, Georges Constantin
    Physical Description: 4350.0 items (53 boxes)
    Repository:
    The Getty Research Institute
    Special Collections
    1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 1100
    Los Angeles, California, 90049-1688
    (310) 440-7390
    Abstract: Art historian, lecturer, and cultural advisor to Tiffany and Company. In his wide travels, Pélissier both collected and created photographic images on diverse subjects, including buildings, monuments, gardens, city views, decorative arts, as well as family and friends. The images in this collection represent various formats and processes, including stereographs, lantern slides, glass negatives, and rare Lumière autochromes. Materials used to present, preserve, and repair stereo views are included, as well as some original stereo view boxes. The small representation of Pélissier's writing includes photocopies of several articles and partial essays, mostly concerning decorative arts.
    Request Materials: Request access to the physical materials described in this inventory through the catalog record  for this collection. Click here for the access policy .
    Language: Collection material is in French

    Biographical/Historical Note

    Georges Pélissier (1865-1931) was employed by Tiffany and Co., in Paris and New York, as a cultural advisor and purchasing clerk. An art historian and lecturer, Pélissier published many writings on decorative objects, art theory, and artists (see the following bibliography). During extensive travels, he collected a substantial number of photographs ranging in subject from decorative arts and architecture, to portraits. Georges Pélissier dedicated the majority of his life's work to the promotion and study of the decorative arts.

    Administrative Information

    Access

    Open for use by qualified researchers.

    Publication Rights

    Preferred Citation

    Georges Pélissier photographs and papers, ca. 1900-1925, Research Library, The Getty Research Institute, Accession no. 94.R.66.
    http://hdl.handle.net/10020/cifa94r66

    Acquisition Information

    The Getty acquired this collection in 1994.

    Processing History

    Michael Baker began processing the collection in mid-August 1995. Much of the collection was sent to the conservation lab for rehousing, and so glass photographs could be cleaned and re-bound. Processing was completed, and the finding aid written, in late December 1995.

    Scope and Content of Collection

    The Georges Pélissier archive contain photographs and some photocopies of published writings. The articles pertain to decorative arts, sculptures, and artists. The more than 4,000 photographs represent five different formats: photoprints on paper, black and white glass stereographs, black and white lantern slides, autochromes, and glass negatives. The majority of the photographs are of different places, many of which were subsequently altered in the course of two world wars, and a number of images of decorative arts and sculptures. There is also a large number of portraits of Pélissier's family and friends. The remainder of the collection consists of a sample of the boxes for the stereo views and a few of the original supplies used to preserve the plates. The collection's arrangement generally reflects Pélissier's organization, particularly in the photographic component.

    Arrangement note

    The collection is organized in eight series: Series I. Published articles, 1907-1908, undated; Series II. Personal photoprints, ca. 1900-1925; Series III. Stereo views, ca. 1900-1925; Series IV. Lantern slides, ca. 1872-1925; Series V. Autochromes, ca. 1907-1914; Series VI. Negatives, ca. 1900-1920; Series VII. Original boxes for stereo views, 1904(?), undated; Series VIII. Photographic supplies, 1920-1925, undated

    Indexing Terms

    Subjects - Names

    Pélissier, Georges Constantin

    Subjects - Corporate Bodies

    Tiffany and Company

    Subjects - Topics

    Color photography
    Color photography--History
    Decorative arts
    Decorative arts--Europe
    Decorative arts--France
    Decorative arts--History
    Family portraits
    Museum exhibits
    Photography
    Photography--Europe
    Photography--France
    Photography--Negatives
    Photography--Processing

    Subjects - Places

    Europe--Description and travel
    United States--Description and travel

    Genres and Forms of Material

    Autochromes
    Glass negatives--20th century
    Lantern slides
    Photographic prints
    Photographs, Original
    Photographs--20th Century
    Stereographic prints
    Sterographs--20th Century