Nineteenth Century' photos in the libraries : a survey of the present situation

After a brief summary of the history of photography, the author underlines the difficulties of inventorying what exists in libraries and the misappreciation of the stocks which it implies. The collections of early photos are different in form and origine, which doesn't make the thing easier. In Paris, because of copyrighting, the Bibliothèque nationale owns the largest collection in the world : about 1 000 000 items. The Bibliothèque historique de la Ville de Paris owns about 50 000 negatives anterior to 1914 and about the same number of positives. Major pieces are very few in provincial libraries, except in some public libraries : Lyon and Nîmes for example. Early photography begins to interest scholars as well as the public at large, the exhibitions becoming more and more numerous. Thus, despite the difficulties - the cost of the acquirements, the rivalty of the museums, the problems of conservation - libraries must take advantage of this immense potential of wealth.
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