The pretty young woman seen in this carte de visite portrait, is named Anna Lesian. An inscription on the reverse of the cdv reveals her name and the year (1890) that the photograph was taken. The photo was taken at the studio of A. Liebert, in Paris, France. The Getty Museum, located in Los Angeles, California, as well as other fine museums, have photographs in their collections by Paris photographer, Alphonse J. Liebert (1827-1913). Many of his Parisian subjects were actresses. Perhaps Miss Lesian is one of those actresses. Mr. Liebert has an interesting story. He was a photographer in Nevada City, California (1857-1862), and later, operated in Paris (1863-1890’s). He was born in France. He became an officer in the French Navy. He left the navy in 1848 to study daguerreotypy. He must have reenlisted in the navy because In 1851, he arrived in San Francisco, as a Lieutenant on a French ship. This was a time when there was much excitement about Gold mining. As a result, there was a mass desertion of the ship’s crew. The sailors joined the rush for gold. Liebert had in mind, his own venture. He and two partners decided to take on the project of refurbishing a steamship. They sought investors and hired workers to transform the ship. However, due to the partners inexperience, the venture failed. Liebert than tried gold mining but met little success. In 1857 he opened a photo gallery in Nevada City. He lost thousands of dollars after a fire in 1858. In 1859 Liebert ridiculed a former photography pupil of his, named Louis Celarie, in the press. This started a bitter professional feud. Soon after, Liebert announced that he had won a medal at the state fair. Unfortunately, there was no evidence to confirm this claim. The competition between Liebert and Celarie was fierce. Each offered special promotions to best the other. By 1861, Liebert triumphed, evidenced by the sale of Celarie’s studio. About a year later, Liebert sold his photo gallery. By 1863, he had returned to France and opened a gallery specializing in tintypes. Liebert closely identified with his photography experience in America, and as a result, he named his Paris gallery “Photographie Americaine”. That very name can be seen on the reverse of this CDV. Liebert began to write photography articles and books, and ultimately, invented a prototype solar camera. In 1867, Liebert had a problem with the law. He was sentence to two months in prison and levied a fine of 200 francs. He was charged for the intent to distribute banned post mortem photographs. These were not photos of some random person. Instead, they were images of Emperor Maximillian, who had been executed in Mexico. Liebert ultimately did exhibit these photos. Liebert was becoming more and more successful. His photo gallery was so lavish that a reviewer for the British Journal of Photography wrote that it was “worthy of the smiles of the ‘God of Light’, and a repository for some of the best productions of the photographic art”. In 1879, Liebert’s gallery was the first studio to utilize electric light. By 1880, he was considered to have the most impressive photo studio in Paris. This carte de visite portrait has excellent clarity and is in very good condition (see scans). (SOLD)
This extra large cabinet card features a cute little girl wearing a serious expression. Note the bow in her hair as well as her earrings. This photograph was taken by the Corson-David studio which was located in Rueil, France. Rueil is a wealthy suburb of Paris. This cabinet card image measures about 5″ x 7″ and is in very good condition. 
This vintage real photo postcard features a group of World War I era French soldiers. Two men in the front row are holding a sign. The men are part of the 148th regiment (?). The text on the sign is related to a French military slogan that states “Honneur aux anciens, courage aux bleus”. This roughly translates to “honor to the old soldiers, courage for the rookies”. In French, “bleu” means “rookie”. The slogan refers to the historical fact that in the late 1700’s, rookies wore blue uniforms, while more veteran soldiers wore white uniforms. This vintage postcard has excellent clarity and is in very good condition.
This vintage ethnological postcard features two Catalan dancers. They are wearing their traditional clothing and holding tambourines. The photograph was taken in Roussillon, a community in Southeastern France. Wikipedia reports that the Catalans are an Iberian/European ethnic group of Mediterranean and Pyrenean descent. The postcard is published by Labouche Freres which was located in Toulouse, France. This postcard is in very good condition (see scans).
This vintage photograph features five policemen posing in front of the entrance to an unknown French city’s police department. Four of the men are dressed in plain clothes. They are likely detectives. A uniformed officer stands behind the plainclothesmen. None of these men are rookies. They look hardened and not the type of men you would want to enrage. Note that three of the men have pens in their pockets. The pens are easy to reach for writing citations. The signs on the wall of the building appear to say “Gardiens” (Police) and “Commissariat” (Department). This photograph appears to have been taken in the 1930’s. The photo measures about 5″ x 7″ and is in very good condition (see scans).
This vintage snap shot features two men and what appears to be a delivery or panel truck . This 1942 photo was taken in Tagnon, which is a community in the Ardennes department in northern France. The Ardennes region is in Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, and France. It was the scene of vicious battles in both World Wars. One of these battles was the Battle of the Bulge which occurred in 1944 and 1945. The previous owner of this photograph reported that this vehicle is a taxi. This photograph measures about 2 1/8″ x 2 1/8″ and is in good condition (see scans).
A lovely young couple pose with their baby and their dog in a family portrait photograph. It is not clear whether the photo was taken outdoors, or in a photo studio. Writing on the reverse of the postcard indicates that the message was written in 1913. The postcard was sent to someone in Paris, France. SOLD
THE CABINET CARD GALLERY 