Louis Alphonse Poitevin - 1819-1882

Louis Alphonse Poitevin was an outstanding inventor, chemist, engineer, scientist, artist and photographer. This publication provides a unique opportunity to cast a wide-ranging gaze at the life and work of the famous pioneer of photography on the basis of a large number of photographs and the results of the latest research.

For over 35 years Poitevin (1819–1882) experimented with chemical andmechanical processes in order to make photographs printable and moredurable. Poitevin recognised how important photography would becomeas a means of illustrating printed books. He developed the first practicableprocesses which could be applied in order to make the printing of booksillustrated with photos possible for the very first time. This volumeassembles photographs and the results of experiments which permita comprehensive insight into Poitevin’s work and which set his achievementsin a technical and art-historical context.