Jules Alphonse Eugène Itier (1802–77) French customs inspector and amateur

daguerreotypist Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre an ...

. Between 1842 and 1843 he traveled to

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 � ...

, Guadeloupe and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, where he took a number of early daguerreotypes. In December 1843, Itier was sent to accompany

Théodore de Lagrené Théodore is the French version of the masculine given name Theodore. Given name * Théodore Caruelle d'Aligny (1798–1871), French landscape painter and engraver *Théodore Anne (1892–1917), French playwright, librettist, and novelist * Théod ...

on his journey to China, where he been dispatched by

Louis Philippe Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

to conclude a commercial treaty. In China, Itier documented the conclusion of the

Treaty of Whampoa The Treaty of Whampoa () was a commercial treaty between Qing dynasty of China and Kingdom of France, which was signed by Qiying and Théodore de Lagrené on October 24, 1844 aboard the warship ''L’Archimède''. It is considered an unequal treaty ...

and took a number of daguerreotypes of Chinese people and scenery in the

Guangdong Guangdong (, ), alternatively romanized as Canton or Kwangtung, is a coastal province in South China on the north shore of the South China Sea. The capital of the province is Guangzhou. With a population of 126.01 million (as of 2020) ...

region. Although the daguerreotype reportedly reached China in the later stages of the

First Opium War The First Opium War (), also known as the Opium War or the Anglo-Sino War was a series of military engagements fought between Britain and the Qing dynasty of China between 1839 and 1842. The immediate issue was the Chinese enforcement of the ...

, Itier's daguerreotypes are the earliest preserved photographs of China. Upon his return to France, Itier wrote an extensive travelogue of his journey to China.

References

*Itier, Jules
''Journal d'un voyage en Chine en 1843, 1844, 1845, 1846.''
3 vols. Paris: Chez Dauvin et Fontaine, 1848.

External links

Article from China Photography Museum (in Chinese)Daguerreotypes by Jules Itier (in French)Biography from the Getty
1802 births 1877 deaths Pioneers of photography 19th-century French photographers Photography in China {{france-photographer-stub