[Member of the Paris Commune: Laure, cantinière, à perpétuité] 1871

This is a carte de visite photograph of Laure, a cantinière (a woman who provided food and drink to soldiers) who fought in the Paris Commune of 1871. Taken by Ernest Eugène Appert in 1871, the image depicts Laure seated, her gaze looking slightly to the left, dressed in a dark jacket and a dark skirt. This image was part of a series of photographs of members of the Paris Commune, a revolutionary government that briefly controlled Paris after the Franco-Prussian War. These images, captured on a small scale, were meant to be circulated amongst sympathizers of the Commune, and highlight the impact of the revolution on everyday people and the ways in which women took active roles in the fighting.