Artist Index: Baldus, Édouard

Vues de Paris en Photographie. 1855-1860. 26 albumen prints, mounted to album leaves. Each ca. 20 x 27 cm (31,5 x 42,5 cm). Each with the photographer's “E. Baldus” stamp below the image on the mount. Presented in contemporary full-leather folio album with gilt-stamped title “Vues de Paris en Photographie” and the arms of the City of Paris on the front board; spine with raised bands and gilt tooling.

A finely produced album comprising twenty-six large-format albumen prints of Parisian architecture and monuments by Édouard Baldus. Created between 1855 and 1860, at the height of Baldus’s career - when he was widely regarded as France’s leading architectural photographer - the album offers monumental views of Haussmann-era Paris, captured with remarkable clarity and compositional precision. The photographs span medieval, Napoleonic, and Second Empire structures, including Notre-Dame, the Arc de Triomphe, Place de la Concorde, and the Louvre, as well as now-lost landmarks such as the Palais de l’Industrie, the Tuileries Palace, and the old Hôtel de Ville. Elegantly bound in a full leather folio with the gilt-stamped title and arms of the City of Paris, the volume exemplifies Baldus’s mission to preserve France’s architectural heritage while celebrating the modernization of the capital under Napoleon III. Complete and well-preserved examples of such albums are increasingly rare. – Corners of the album slightly bumped; some foxing on the cover page and small holes in the interleaf. A few pages slightly loose, with light foxing and fading, minor scuff marks, and traces of silver mirroring in the shadow areas of some prints; otherwise all prints with strong tones and in near excellent condition.

Théâtre Romain à Arles. Circa 1855. Albumen print. 33,5 x 43 (44 x 55 cm). With title and negative number in lower margin of print, mounted to original card (some foxing and smudge marks, left margin torn), stamped "E. Baldus" in black ink below image on mount.

Édouard Baldus, a pivotal figure in 19th-century architecture and landscape photography, played a crucial role in establishing photography as a vital tool for documenting and preserving architectural heritage. Renowned for his expansive photographic campaigns across France, Baldus captured monuments, railway routes, and cityscapes that represent some of the era’s most striking architectural views. Prints of this image are in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Art, Washington and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. – Some foxing and light surface irregularities, otherwise a strong print in near excellent condition.

Luxor Obelisk, Place de la Concorde, Paris. ca. 1855. Coated salted paper print mounted to board (minimal foxing). 18,9 x 27,5 cm (31,7 x 44 cm). Stamped "E. Baldus" in black ink below image on mount.

Édouard Baldus, an important figure in 19th-century architecture and landscape photography, was instrumental in establishing photography as a vital tool for documenting and preserving architectural heritage. His images of Paris during the Haussmann renovation serve as invaluable historical records, capturing the city’s dramatic transformation during that time. Prints of this image are held in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The J. Paul Getty Museum, and The New York Public Library. – A scuff mark visible in upper left corner, some very light signs of retouching, otherwise a strong print in near excellent condition.

Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, Tuilleries, Paris. ca. 1855. Albumen print mounted to board (minimal foxing). 20,8 x 27,8 cm (31,7 x 44 cm). Stamped "E. Baldus" in black ink below image on mount, annotated "EB16" and "Tuilleries" in pencil on recto and verso.

This image shows the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel in Paris, a victory arch commissioned by Napoleon I in 1806 to commemorate his military victories and honor the French army during the Napoleonic Wars. Prints of this image are held in the collections of the Getty Museum and the Library of Congress. – Some light fading and signs of silver mirroring visible along edges, some surface irregularities, otherwise a strong tonal print in very good condition.