Paris et ses environs reproduits par le daguerréotype 1840

This is the cover of "Paris et ses environs reproduits par le daguerréotype," produced under the direction of Charles Philipon and published in Paris in 1840. This book announces itself as a modern marvel, reproducing images of Paris made with the new technology of the daguerreotype. Think about this in the context of 1840s France. Photography was not yet the ubiquitous medium we know today. Its emergence was intertwined with ideas of scientific progress and democratic accessibility. Philipon, as director, played a key role in determining what aspects of Parisian life were deemed worthy of representation through this innovative technology. He also made the editorial decisions about which daguerreotypes to include in the book. Understanding the social role of this book requires a blend of technical knowledge about the daguerreotype process, archival research into Philipon's publishing house, and an analysis of the book's contents to reveal what stories about Paris it chose to tell. This gives us insight into the cultural values and institutional structures that shaped visual culture in early photographic France.