Cromer's Parlour, Paris, ca 19??

One of the Museum's fundamental collections is the Gabriel Cromer Collection. Cromer (1873-1934) was trained as a lawyer, but chose a career as a photographer, specializing in portraits made in the carbon process, which he made at his home studio in Clamart, a southwestern suburb of Paris. In addition, he was a member of the Société Française de Photographie, and after 1927, he was in charge of the Society's library.

Collecting at a time when photographs were not highly regarded in the world of art, Cromer assembled a collection of photographs, cameras and equipment, photomechanical prints, cartoons and all manner of paper ephemera relating to the camera and to the history of photography, as well as an enormous library of books, manuals and periodical literature relating to his interest in the medium. With some notable exceptions, nearly all of this material is French, and it had been his dream that his collection be used to establish a museum of photography in France. In many cases, it appears that his sources for the material were first and second generation descendants of photographic pioneers. It is evident that forming the collection and working with it was a labor of love for Cromer, as much of the material includes his hand-written comments and references to the literature in the field.

The Collection was acquired from Cromer's widow in 1939 by the Eastman Kodak Company and its representative, Walter Clark for 500,000 francs ($13,000). It became a part of the larger Eastman Historical Photograph Collection at Kodak, and was later placed on loan in the George Eastman House when it open in 1949. In 1972, the title to the collection was transferred to the Trustees.

The Photography Collection at the George Eastman House contains nearly 6,000 images from the Gabriel Cromer Collection, a substantial number of these housed in albums. The Collection holds close to 500 daguerreotypes. Notable among this material is a daguerreotype of Daguerre himself, made by J.B. Sabatier-Blot and a portrait made by Daguerre and signed in the plate by him. There are also 11 pieces of Daguerre's original artwork, including a framed ink and wash study for an 1836 diorama painting. A notable subset of the daguerreotype collection is the 80 images made by an unknown amateur which depict domestic interiors scenes and street life. Among the exceptional paper photographs is work by Charles Marville, Gustave Le Gray, Eduoard Baldus, Eduoard Fierlants and the Bisson Fréres, as well as albums of images by Eugene Durieu, Desiré Charnay and Victor Hugo.

Joseph R. Struble

Assistant Archivist

References:

Clark, Walter. The Cromer Collection at Eastman House in French Daguerreotypes by Janet E. Buerger, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989

Wooters, David W. The Blind Man's Elephant in Photography from 1839 to Today George Eastman House, Rochester NY, Taschen, 1999

Buerger, Janet E. The Era of the French Calotype, International Museum of Photography at George Eastman House, 1982

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