The Nadars, a photographic legend

The Nadars

fr

Uncropped enlargement of the interview with Chevreul

Félix et Paul Nadar, 1886

Silver print from a silver gelatin negative
Paris, French Photography Society Collection
© Paris, Société Française de Photographie
Although the 19th century was when images became newspapers' focal point, by late in the century, photographers had dethroned illustrators: the first photograph published in a newspaper was in Nadar's report about the chemist Chevreul in Le Journal illustré (1886). L’Illustration, which was soon publishing photography too (1896) and Le Miroir, founded in 1912 and "illustrated entirely by photography," often took advantage of pictures' ability to create news.