{"product_id":"seven-early-salt-print-photograph-views-of-pondicherry-india-c1850s-likely-by-jules-lepine","title":"Eight early Salt Print Photographic views of Pondicherry,  India - 1850s - Attributed to Jules Lépine","description":"\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEight early Indian Photographic views of Pondicherry\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e-1850s\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e-Attributed to Jules Lépine (1817–1884)\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"p1\"\u003e-Assorted sizes from 1\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e8× 16 cm to 31 × 24\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"xt0psk2\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"_ap3a _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade\" dir=\"auto\"\u003eTaken in the 1850s, the amateur photographs depict buildings and street scenes in and around Pondicherry, in what was then French India. The images include depictions of the Grand Bizarre clock tower, built in 1851, with a busy market scene below. Outdoor photography was still in its infancy, and required long exposures, so the market traders appear blurred and dynamic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"_ap3a _aaco _aacu _aacx _aad7 _aade\" dir=\"auto\"\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInterestingly, one of the photos (the second) gives a clue as to the photographer. A man stands outside the “Pharmacie du Marin” and has annotated the building “ma chambre” (my bedroom).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Chief Navy pharmacist at the time was Jules Lépine \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e(1817–1884) \u003c\/span\u003ewho worked in Pondicherry from 1849-1854 and 1857-1868. It is most likely he learnt the salt print photographic process during his return to France in 1854-1857 (when salt prints were at the height of their popularity), and returned in 1857 to take these fascinating photos. Lépine was a trained pharmacist and accomplished naturalist. Before arriving in India he collected natural-history specimens in Tahiti and the Marquesas, and at Pondicherry he reseached \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eHydrocotyle asiatica\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e, \u003cspan class=\"s1\"\u003e\u003ci\u003eCasuarina\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e, and the extraction of magnesium sulphate from dolomite.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSalt prints were an early form of photography, most popular in the 1850s. Salt prints superseded the earliest popular form of photography, daguerreotypes, as multiple copies could be made from a negative. Salt prints would be replaced by sharper albumen prints from the late 1850s. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eSalted paper photographs made in India during the 1850s are notably early, before the widespread establishment of commercial photographic studios in the subcontinent.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"De Bry Rare Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57164086935930,"sku":null,"price":4000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0624\/2969\/2075\/files\/c75e23c8-00e6-4e0c-9ee6-9ebd72f28e9c.jpg?v=1789205445","url":"https:\/\/debryrarebooks.com\/products\/seven-early-salt-print-photograph-views-of-pondicherry-india-c1850s-likely-by-jules-lepine","provider":"De Bry Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}