Auguste François Archive

Item set

Title
Auguste François Archive
Description
Auguste François was a French Consul in China between 1896 and 1904. As a diplomat and amateur photographer, he compiled an archive composed of around three thousand glass plates and photographic prints with detailed captions.
content
MUSÉE DU QUAI BRANLY – JACQUES CHIRAC (PUBLIC COLLECTION)
The Musée du Quai Branly holds:
• 10 photographs attributed to Auguste François, including 6 photographs taken in China between 1896 and 1904. Authorship attribution remains problematic as there is no evidence that Auguste François went to Hainan. Photographs taken in China are printed on Baryta paper and measure 22,5 x 29,5 cm. Images are digitized and low definition jpgs are accessible on the Museum digital library. They belonged to the former Musée de l’Homme collection.
• The Museum collection also includes music instruments, costumes, and utensils amongst other artefacts (weapons, jewellery, games).
collections.quaibranly.fr
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BIBLIOTHÈQUE NATIONALE DE FRANCE (PUBLIC COLLECTION)
The Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) holds a few primary source materials:
• 2 photographs shot along the Yangtze River near Qiaojiaying [Kiao-Kia Ting] in Yunnan province. They were taken before 1935. Auguste François donated himself these photographs to the library in 1935. They are now held at the Cartes et Plans department of the BnF, depositary of the Société de Géographie collections from which these photographs originate.
Identifier: SG WD-317
catalogue.bnf.fr
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MUSÉE NATIONAL DES ARTS ASIATIQUES – GUIMET (PUBLIC COLLECTION)
A great number of Francois' photographs are held at the Musée Guimet, notably:
• Over 3.000 photographs and negatives taken in China between 1896 and 1904.
• The Museum collection also includes letters, maps, objects, books and rubbings.
A portion of the photographs are digitized and available on the Agence photo de la Réunion des Musées nationaux et du Grand Palais website.
www.photo.rmn.fr
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MUSÉE GAUMONT (PRIVATE COLLECTION)
The Musée Gaumont holds:
• 89 positive stereoscopic glass plates Elgé. The plates measure 8,5 x 16, 9 cm and belong to the museum collection since its purchase at the auction house Drouot on 12th April 2006.
• 1 Stéréospido L. Gaumont et Cie. Auguste François used a similar type of camera, which was already exiting in the museum collection.

The stereoscopic glass plates were expressly made at Auguste François’ request, who complained about the quality of previous ones. A letter currently held at the Cinémathèque Française attests his complaint. He was a regular client of the L. Gaumont et Cie. Society, formerly known as the Comptoir Général de la Photographie. Traces of his photographic reportage can be found in sales catalogues, but they remained anonymous because of Gaumont’s regulations. Photographs are precisely captioned on loose sheets. These captions originated in the Drouot 2006 sale catalogue.
www.gaumont-le-musee.fr
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During the transition from the mid-nineteenth century to early twentieth centuries, a variety of French periodicals and newspapers diffused François’ photographs and/or discussed his journey to China. To cite a few examples:
• François, Auguste. “Au Yunnan.” La revue de Paris, N° 19, 1st October (1900): 449-478.
• François, Auguste. “Au Yunnan.” La revue de Paris, N° 21, 1st November (1900): 82-108.
• François, Auguste. “De Canton à Yun-Nan-Sen.” La revue de Paris, N° 14, 15 July (1900): 225-260.
• François, Auguste. “De Canton à Yun-Nan-Sen.” La revue de Paris, N° 15, 1er August (1900): 535-558.
• “Les événements de Chine.” L’Illustration, 23 June (1900): 392.
• “La mission François au Yunnan.” L’Illustration, 30 June (1900): 405-410.
• “L’attaque de la mission française à Yunnan-sen.” L’Illustration, 25 August (1900): 113.
• Carmant, Jean. “Les événements de Chine.” La vie illustrée, 6 July (1900): 216; 234.
• François, Auguste. “De Canton à Long-Tcheou.” Bulletin de la Société de Géographie de Paris (1899).
• Des Houx, Gaston. “Au cœur de la Chine.” Le Monde Illustré, 19 November (1904): 411-414.
• François, Auguste. “Les Lolos du Kien-Tchang.” Bulletin de la Société d’Anthropologie, 1904.
• “Tien Tsin….” L’Univers Illustré Paris, n° 2362, 30 June (1900).
• ”Les événements de Chine – Yunnan.” L’Univers Illustré, n° 2363, 7 July (1900).
• ”Une dépêche de notre consul à Yun-nan-sen.” L’Univers Illustré Paris, n° 2364, 14 July (1900).
• ”Nos compatriotes – M. Auguste FRANÇOIS.” L’Est Républicain, 12 September (1935).

Throughout his expeditions, François kept on sending photographs, reports and objects to museums and other public institutions. Later his wife donated a fair number of items from his archive to several public institutions. Today various traces and records of his archive can be found different locations, such as:
• Ministère des Affaires étrangères, which holds reports, maps and other documents.
• Pathé Gaumont Archives, which holds films François shot in Yunnan between 1900 and 1904.
• Cinémathèque Française, which detains one letter that François wrote in 1898 from China to the French industrialist and engineer Léon Gaumont (1864-1946). Revue mensuelle des Nouveautés Cinématographiques L. Gaumont & Cie. Mai 1905 : Au pays des mandarins.
• Archives départementales de la Sarthe, which holds correspondences concerning Yunnan that Auguste François exchanged with the Baron and Diplomat Paul d'Estournelles de Constant (1852-1924).
• The familly Guébriant located in Saint Pol-de-Léon possesses the round of correspondences between François and several missionaries based in China, notably the Father Jean de Guébriant (1860-1935), Super-General of the Société des Missions étrangères between 1921 and 1935.
• Lunéville Museum, which conserves ceramics produced in Yunnan province.
• Musée d’Art et d’Industrie located in Saint-Etienne, which conserves firearms and bladed weapons.
• Musée de l’Archerie located in Crepy-en-Valois, which holds weapons found in China, Japan, Vietnam and Paraguay.
• Musée Pincé located in Angers, which holds several Chinese bronzes and other artefacts from Japan and China.
• Musée d’Orbigny-Bernon located in La Rochelle, which conserves a sculptured wood panel measuring 300 x 110 cm. François brought it back from Tonkin in the late 1880s and originally donated it to the Musée du Louvre.

The following institutions holds and/or have acquired Auguste François' films:
• Archives françaises du film - CNC, Bois d’Arcy
• Cinémathèque française, Paris
• Musée Guimet, Paris
• Comité du film ethnographique du Musée de l’Homme, Paris
• SOAS, London
• The Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
• Rijks Museum voor Volkenkunde, Leiden
• British Film Institute, London

Since 1991 and until the present day, many exhibitions in France and abroad have been dedicated to François’ photographs, most importantly his records created in the south of China (Yunnan) and in Tonkin but also in Paraguay. These international exhibitions were organized in a variety of venues, ranging from educational institutions to cultural centres and public museums. Conferences and special events were organised on such occasion.
Temporal Coverage
Nineteenth century (dates CE)
Twentieth century (dates CE)
Language
French
References
The Auguste François Association (A.A.F.) was launched in Paris in 1990. Its goal is to promote François’ work to a large audience and across borders. In order to so, the association has created a website, which has been inventorying, safeguarding, digitizing and publishing his complete works. Several members of the association as well as the association itself own a large part of François’ writings and pictures.
augfrancois.chez-alice.fr

Bernard, Odile, Élisabeth Locard, and Pierre Marbotte. Le Chemin De Fer Du Yunnan: Une Aventure Française En Chine : D'après Les Correspondances Et Les Photographies De Albert Marie Et Georges-Auguste Marbotte. , 2016.

Francois, Auguste, and Pierre Seydoux. Le Mandarin Blanc: Souvenirs D'un Consul En Extrême-Orient, 1886-1904. Paris: L'Harmattan, 2006.

Ghesquière, Jérôme. De la Mer de Chine au Tonkin : photographies 1886 - 1904 ; [cet ouvrage a été édité à l'occasion de l'Exposition De la Mer de Chine au Tonkin présentée à Toulouse au Musée Paul-Dupuy du 1er juillet au 30 septembre 1996]. Paris: Somogy Éd. d'Art, 1996.

Lenoir, Désirée. Le Consul Qui En Savait Trop: Les Ambitions Secrètes De La France En Chine, 1886-1904. Paris: Nouveau monde éd, 2011.

Liabeuf, Dominique and Jorge Svartzman. L'œil Du Consul: Auguste Francois En Chine, 1896-1904. Paris: Chêne, 1989.

Martin, Boris. L'iconoclaste. L'histoire Véritable D'auguste François, Consul, Photographe, Explorateur, Misanthrope, Incorruptible Et Ennemi Des Intrigants. Paris: Editions du Pacifique, 2014.
location
Musée du quai Branly - Jacques-Chirac
Bibliothèque nationale de France
Musée national des arts asiatiques - Guimet
Paris
Musée Gaumont
Neuilly-sur-Seine
address
Musée du Quai Branly, 37 Quai Branly, 75007 Paris
www.quaibranly.fr
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Quai François Mauriac, 75706 Paris
www.bnf.fr
Musée Guimet, 6 Place d'Iéna, 75116 Paris
www.guimet.fr
Musée Gaumont, 13 Rue du Midi, 92200 Neuilly-sur-Seine
www.gaumont-le-musee.fr
Paris

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