27 Cabinet Cards of Paris Scenes

(Paris): Achille Quinet, 1870. Photograph. Fine. A set of 27 cabinet cards measuring 6-3/8 by 4-1/4 (16.2 by 10.8 cm), with images slightly smaller.

The sepia-tone albumen photographs depict architectural scenes in Paris and the surrounding areas. The images, most titled in the negative and a few on the mount, include Place de la Concorde; Chateau de Fontainebleau; Palais des Tuileries; Notre-Dame; Tour St. Jacques; and Eglise de la Trinité.

Quinet (1831-1900) was a photographer and inventor-he patented the Quinetoscope, the first twin-lens stereoview camera, and he developed the first vertical photograph enlarger. This collection is an example of his commercial work, photographs of Paris buildings and monuments. Quinet was a member of the Sociéte Française de Photographie from 1876 to 1894, and he exhibited his work at the Universal Exposition of 1878. One image has small areas of loss; the rest are fine or nearly so.