Military Parade of the French Army on Place Vendôme, Paris, Félix Nadar, 1859

albumen print, h 193mm × w 214mm More details

This early snapshot offers a quick impression of a military parade on Place Vendôme in Paris. The French army had just returned from a successful campaign against the Austrians in Italy. Press photography for newspapers and magazines did not yet exist in the 19th century. This photograph was published a week later in the magazine l’Illustration, but only after it had been copied and reworked as a wood engraving.