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several old black and white photos of a group of men and womenan open book with a picture of a group of peoplean old book sitting on top of a table covered in brown paper
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75 - 1894 Photographic album, a memento of the Pavie Mission, con…
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Estimate €8,000 - €12,000
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Description
1894 Photographic album, a memento of the Pavie Mission, containing 175 photographs glued onto sheets of cardboard with border strips and captioned in pen. Cloth-bound cardboard binding (with some damage) and moiré-patterned inner cover and flyleaf. Album dimensions: 32x26 cm. Print dimensions: mainly 11x15 cm. The 175 photographs document the second Mission led by Pierre Lefèvre-Pontalis from June 1894 to March 1895, the aim of which was to demarcate the borders in Laos. This second Mission is published in Volume V of the Pavie Mission’s *Indochina – Geography and Travels*. Many of the photographs from our album are reproduced there. In a note in the preface to the Mission, Pierre Lefèvre-Pontalis explains that, having lost his cameras and photographs during the expedition, he had to rely on photographs taken by certain members of the mission to illustrate his volume and had to ‘draw upon’ the collections of Prince Henri d’Orléans. Henri d’Orléans, a photographer, painter and explorer, had already taken part in several missions, notably to Tibet and South-East Asia. He joined his friend Pierre Lefèvre-Pontalis for this second Mission. Our photo album is probably the personal album of HRH Henri d’Orléans. Departure from Hanoi: Reception of the Mission by the colonial administrators: Mr Chavassieux, Governor-General of Indochina (acting from March to October 1894); General-in-Chief Duchemin (commander-in-chief of the colony’s troops); Mr Guichard, Government Commissioner for Indochina. The Black River: the Cho Bo, Man-Ngaï and Vit-Vay rapids; bivouac; ethnic groups (Mans, Muongs or Moïs); the Lai-Chau Gorges. The Upper Black River: numerous photographs of ethnic groups (Meos, Yaos, Tinepanes), a Thai tomb, the Muong Hahin outpost. Upper Laos: weavers, salt works at Muong Boun Thai, Black Thai groups, Chief Kha, Sip Song Panas. The Buffer State, the British camp at Muong Sing, the King of Muong Sing, the mandarins, Mr Lefevre Pontalis, Embassy Secretary (graduate in Annamite language), ethnic groups (Meos, Lus). The Upper Mekong. Surveying Officer Lieutenant Thomassin. Upper Laos, the Pak-Ta landing stage, the village of Xieng Khong, the Laotian militia. Luang Prabang: the old king and the second king, pagodas. The Middle Mekong: Vien-Tian, pagodas. When Auguste Pavie (1847–1925) arrived in Saigon in January 1869, he was initially employed by the Indochinese Postal Service. He travelled throughout the south-west of the country, taking a keen interest in regional geography and history. He was appointed vice-consul in Luang Prabang, the royal capital of Laos. Having become close to the king after helping him to flee in 1887 during an assault on the city, he succeeded, within a few years, in securing acceptance of the French protectorate over Laos. With the aim of thwarting Siam’s claims to the region, he was promoted to consul in Bangkok, took part in a commission to demarcate the borders, and, in 1893, secured the signing of a Franco-Siamese treaty establishing France’s territorial rights in Indochina. It was with this in mind that an exploration was undertaken of the provinces situated on either side of the Mekong, from Cambodia to Yunnan (China). These reconnaissance missions, initially led by Pavie himself with the assistance of Cambodian assistants and interpreters, were supplemented by several other exploratory missions which he supervised between 1889 and 1892. These were led by teams comprising military personnel and diplomats, as well as scientists and surveyors. On his return to France in 1895, Pavie published, in seven large volumes entitled *Géographies et voyages*, a comprehensive account of the observations gathered during the various missions led by himself and his collaborators. This collection came to be known as the ‘Pavie Mission’, which remained famous for a long time for the new insights it provided into what would become French Indochina.
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About the sale Indochina Chapter 22
Auction location
Auction time 09/08/2026 at 11:00 AM
Ref. : 8637 - 1
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