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 Tuesday, 29th May, 2007 Near Chalon-sur-Saône The Discovery of the World's Oldest Photographic Lab Turning a key in a lock has revealed a past hidden away for 152 years: the lab of one of the world's very first photographers has been rediscovered. Intact and whole. In 1840, Joseph Fortuné Petiot-Groffier opens his lab, which he uses until 1855 – the time of his sudden death under mysterious circumstances, most probably caused by the photo chemicals he used. As a safety measure, his heirs close down the lab. Through the coming generations, the family inhabits all of their buildings near Chalon, with the exception of that very room, which – although shut – is not completely forgotten either. For the family is well aware that they have been sheltering a photographic treasure, carefully hidden away behind a protective wooden door on the second floor of their dwelling. Two years ago, the family heritage changes hands for the last time: its new owner discovers the treasure. It takes him two years to find out to whom he would like to entrust the lab, with the aim of preserving it entirely and as a whole. In the beginning of 2007, he thus contacts Pierre-Yves Mahé, the initiator of the Niépce House in Saint-Loup de Varennes. "I have something important to show you", he lets him know. Pierre-Yves Mahé is willing to have a look at this seeming discovery – not having the slightest idea what he is about to witness. "Initially I didn't place any importance to this announcement", he frankly admits – already having been confronted with several discoveries, which – far from being sensational – had turned out to be fairly banal. Yet, when the by now famous door eventually opens, a lost world reappears: an entire intact lab, in the exact state its owner left it on his death in 1855. "It was an intriguing moment: we didn't know where to look. There were hundreds of bottles still containing chemicals, hundreds of books, tools and objects everywhere, among which several cameras allowing to make images according to the two first photographical processes, the Daguerrotype and the Collodion. For Pierre-Yves Mahé, who – since 1999 – has been the leader of the Niépce House projects, this discovery immediately becomes the answer to some of the questions he has been asking himself concerning new research perspectives. "Everything was spinning around in my head", and one major thought predominates: "What if all of this burns down tomorrow... I would mind for the rest of my life." Frantically, he begins to take pictures – of everything. "There were so many things to be rescued". After the first impact of the discovery had been digested, the Niépce House team – Pierre-Yves Mahé, Jean-Louis Marignier and Michèle Lourseau – begin an inventory of the entire treasure, which has not ceased to surprise them. "It will take us several months of research", Mahé estimates the forthcoming amount of work. Never before so many ancient chemicals have been discovered: more than 300 flasks, entire, some of which are still sealed. Next to this, more than 400 books dating back to the 1830s, containing all the contemporary photographic knowledge. And, eventually, all the accessories necessary for the developent of Daguerrotypes and Collodions – intact and complete. By simply opening a door, a marvelous leap in time has been brought about. This newly-discovered lab and the result of the forthcoming research will be presented at the Niépce House in Saint-Loup de Varennes, in the very place where the photographical adventure began. Definitely Burgundian! C. Saulnier  Tuesday 4th September 2007 - Chalon-sur-Saône Petiot-Groffier’s Residence Discloses Yet Another Secret… The missing part of the world's oldest photographic lab After the dry lab, Petiot-Groffier’s wet lab had been found in his former residence – completing the discovery of the world’s oldest photographic lab. UA photographic lab – even the world’s oldest – may hide yet another one, as Pierre-Yves Mahé could experience himself lately, and with great pleasure. Earlier this year, the director of the Niépce House in Saint-Loup-de-Varennes already found a real treasure. The latest heir of Joseph-Fortuné Petiot-Groffier’s had discovered in his family residence in the Chalon region his predecessor’s photographic lab – hidden away behind a door on the second floor, which had not been opened for 152 years. Thanks to his decision to confide this surprising discovery to Pierre-Yves Mahé, the oldest intact lab – a photographic treasure indeed – had been made accessible again (see also our article on May 29th, 2007). Under the emotional impact and with the urge to make an inventory of the hundreds of ancient objects found in the dry lab, Pierre-Yves Mahé didn’t make any attempt to find the missing part to the lab in the house. For there was obviously an important part missing, which couldn’t be hidden away that far.The dry lab allowed Joseph-Fortuné Petiot-Groffier to work on his photos, but in no way to develop them: the wet lab – the core to photographic development – was missing. During a trip to the US, Pierre-Yves Mahé presented his discovery to the researchers at George Eastman House, who – fascinated by the finding – are equally intrigued by the question as to the whereabouts of the wet lab. Back to France, Pierre-Yves Mahé thus decided to look for the missing part. With Petiot-Groffier’s heir, he searches the house, room by room, from basement to the top. In a simple storage room, the famous missing part is to be found – eventually. On the first floor, behind two large swing-doors leading to a room plunged in darkness. This room had been used for decades to store away things. In one corner, at its end, one discovers a sink; next to it, there seems to be a window, hidden away, carefully sealed off, preventing any light to enter. On one of the shutters, a small hatch can be opened to let pass the light through a red filter – the very same inactinic red that is still used in today’s photographic labs, as it prevents film from reacting with its light. “Looking at this from close-up, one can almost imagine Petiot-Groffier work here. One sees him fight against the intrusion of light, looking at his elaborate ways of darkening the room. A first wooden plate, made-to-measure by a carpenter, closes the window, but wasn’t waterproof enough, which explains the felt used to seal it off. As to the small hatch, it has been attached by a piece of string and felt, to obtain the best result possible”, Pierre-Yves Mahé explains. A result as perfect, actually, that no-one could have ever guessed that there was a window hidden away in this very room. However, this was not the only secret of Petiot-Groffier’s rediscovered wet lab: Pierre-Yves Mahé equally found certain accessories that were missing in the dry lab, in particular some inactinic lamps, which allow to illuminate the photographers’ environment without affecting their work. Petiot-Groffier’s residence seems thus to have disclosed all of its secrets by now, but there remains more than enough work to be done for the researchers to analyze them entirely. They now possess his entire photographic lab – intact – as it used to be from 1840 to 1855. C. Saulnier June 10th, 2007 The discovery of the world's oldest photographic lab Petiot-Groffier: Businessman, Politician, and Photographer  A photography taken by Petiot-Groffier in 1853: the hospital at Chalon with its original nave (exists no longer) (coll. Société d'Histoire de Chalon) The recent discovery of Fortuné-Joseph Petiot-Groffier's lab reveals another side of this exceptional personality, to whom the inhabitants of Chalon owed quite many a thing during his lifetime. It had been hidden away for decades, when all of a sudden, it is caught by the bright limelight: the recent discovery of Fortuné-Joseph Petiot-Groffier's lab, situated in a house close to Chalon, shows yet another side of an exceptional life, which lasted from 1788 to 1855. Fortuné-Joseph Petiot was born in the time of the French Revolution – some months before the major events – on September 16th, 1788. The boy, who had two sisters and a brother, could not help being immersed in public affairs from his youngest age onwards, since his father, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph, had a long political career of his own: deputy of the Third Estate in the Estates-General in 1789, being involved in the major parts of the revolutionary events, he became a judge under Napoleon, presided the civil court at Chalon, and eventually was elected councilman during the Restoration. During the time of the Restoration, Fortuné-Joseph Petiot himself – young lawyer, and husband to Olympe Groffier (since 1818) – began his own political career, among a group of young liberals who managed to challenge the Bourbons, who were back on the French throne. Group members included Moyne, Petiot's brother in law, as well as Emiland Menand. With the Fall of the Restoration in 1830, Fortuné-Joseph Petiot-Groffier became an important representative of the new regime, both as the mayor of Chalon-sur-Saône (1832-1835) and as a member of parliament under Louis-Philippe, on the benches of the so-called "Juste milieu" (i.e. parliamentary representation of the middle classes). To his political life can be added a particular talent for business affairs: a child of the thriving industrial era, Petiot-Groffier was equally the founder of numerous enterprises. After the establishment of the steam mill at Saint-Cosme in 1823, the sugar refinery of the Alouettes – which he co-founded in 1836 at Châtenoy-le-Royal – became one of his most famous undertakings, specializing in the fabrication of domestic sugar on the basis of sugar beet. As if this was not enough, Petiot-Groffier shortly before had succeeded in yet another domain, by introducing to Burgundy the so-called method of the "champagnization" of wines. The Petiot-Groffiers, who owned major vineyards in Rully and Mercurey, thus aimed at transforming their white wines into sparkling wines, with the help of specialists from Champagne, whom they contacted in 1822. One of them, François-Bazile Hubert, even joined them in Chalon: the first attempts at Rully achieved an almost immediate success, the Burgundian sparkling wine was born. Among all of his numerous activities, Fortuné-Joseph Petiot-Groffier also had a precious hobby: photography. Had he known Nicéphore Niépce? It is highly probable that the two men had met, as Niépce (although he already died in 1833) was his contemporary. Was it because of their potential acquaintanceship that the industrial entrepreneur developed a need to fix images on paper? We do not know. What we know for sure, however, is that Petiot-Groffier was fairly well-known in Chalon for his skills of taking pictures. Thus, it is no surprise that – in 1853 – he was contacted by the newly-founded Société d'Histoire et d'Archéologie to take some "general viewpoints" of the hospital at Chalon, whose nave was to be demolished, "so that the building – highly appreciated by the inhabitants of Chalon for centuries – would be preserved for our descendants" (cf. the photo on this site). The word "photography" was not yet in use. For us – these days – these "general viewpoints" have turned into nothing less than some of the earliest photographs of the Chalon of 1853 – Petiot-Groffier’s dignified heritage to posterity. Gilles Platret They have covered the discovery of the lab:       First exhibition of the lab's pictures: Les 22/23/24 juin 2007 de 12h à 19h30
Fortuné Joseph Petiot-Groffier’s Lab (1788-1855) We would like to express our pleasure and gratitude concerning the widespread enthusiasm our recent discovery of Petiot-Groffier’s lab has met with. This lab is the oldest existing we know of at present (thanks to the receipts, the chemicals can be dated back as far as 1840-41). From photography pioneers such as Niépce, Daguerre, Talbot or Bayard, no entire lab has been preserved, but individual ancient large format cameras and sometimes wooden shooting accessories (whole or in parts). These served as a means for the photographic production (the shooting proper) and cannot be seen as pertaining to the lab-work in the darkroom. In Petiot-Groffier’s lab, we are able to rediscover all the chemical products and utensils used in the darkroom to prepare the photographic plates and to develop the images taken: 450 flasks, 500 books, ancient large format cameras, accessories (to take, prepare and develop the images), empty plates, as well as negatifs and prints by Petiot-Groffier himself. An exceptional ensemble which allows us for the first time ever to enter a darkroom of one of history’s first photographers. This lab might not be the only one to have resisted time, and several other photographic treasuries might as well be hidden away somewhere. So as to make them visible and accessible as well, the Niépce House would like to appeal to those who know of similar cases: please do not wait any longer before sharing your knowledge. The Niépce House is proud to once again contribute to our knowledge of the history of photography – a history that the visitors of our museum will be able to review themselves from summer 2007 onwards. The Nicéphore Niépce House Team [The photos and results of our research will be continually published on our website, according to their progression.] |
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