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several old time photos of men and women in formal clothingsix books with handwriting on them sitting on a table
Balsan Encheres

644 - NADAR (*) 8 SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHS, Félix TOURNACHON, known as N…
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Estimate €300
Sale commission
Description
NADAR (*) 8 SIGNED PHOTOGRAPHS, Félix TOURNACHON, known as Nadar, 1820–1910: - 7 PORTRAIT photographs in visiting-card format (10.5 x 6.6 cm), bromide prints mounted on card with a red border, signed ‘N’ in the bottom right-hand corner – on the reverse, centred, signed ‘Nadar’ in red with the address ‘35 Bd des Capucines’; with an addition on five of them: ‘photograph of the Grand Hôtel’. circa 1860–1870. - 1 oval portrait photograph from the ‘Contemporary Celebrities’ collection (no. 1873). glossy bromide signed ‘Nadar’ in the lower right-hand corner. ( * ) – caricaturist, writer, aeronaut and, above all, renowned photographer. In 1860, his studio was established at 35 Boulevard des Capucines - Around 1874, his wife launched and managed, with 20 employees, a new establishment at 51 Rue d’Anjou-St Honoré “on the corner of the Chapelle Expiatoire / Private Hotel”, of which their son Paul Armand would become the artistic director. Nadar’s fame and adventures inspired Jules Verne to write his book *Five Weeks in a Balloon*. The hero is called Michel Ardan, an anagram of Nadar. - ANECDOTE: his younger brother, Adrien TOURNACHON, used the pseudonym “NADAR” in 1856 in the form “Nadar jeune”. This signature caused confusion and led to a legal case between the two brothers; Félix won the case, which allowed him to be the sole user of the pseudonym. It was the first legal case of its kind concerning the status of a photographer as an author.
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About the sale SALE OF COINS, BANKNOTES, MEDALS, CIVILIAN AND MILITARY HEADGEAR, INSIGNIA AND DECORATIONS – lots 300 to 598 Followed by OLD PAPERS, PHOTOGRAPHS, POSTCARDS, DOCUMENTS AND MISCELLANEOUS ITEMS – Lots 599 to 862
Auction location
Auction time 10/20/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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