Paris: Gauthiers-Villars et au Bureau du Journal Les Mondes, 1869. Cros, Charles. First edition. 8vo., 12 pp.,later tan boards with crimson morocco spine label, printed wrappers bound in. There are a few faint spots of foxing on the front wrapper. A fine copy. Item #53115

Charles Cros (1842 - 1888) and Louis Ducos du Hauron, simultaneously, but independently, discovered and published the basic principles of photographic color by the subtractive method. In 1869, he published an article in Les Mondes in which he describes a letter he had deposited in 1867 with the Académie des Sciences that outlined his color process. The contents of his letter was made public on May 7, 1869 at a meeting of the Société Française de Photographie when a similar process by Louis Ducos du Hauron was also announced. Cros continued to explore photography in color and in 1877, he was supported in his experiments by the Duke of Chaulnes. Very few examples of his color photographs survive. As is often the case, the price of 1 franc shown on the front wrapper is scraped or erased, the edition having remained on sale at Gauthier-Villars for many years.

This pamphlet is a cornerstone work on the development of color photography. Roosens & Salu No. 2647.

Price: $4,250.00