Europe in the Mid-19th Century Through Claude-Marie Ferrier’s Lens

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Born in 1811 in Lyon, French photographer Claude-Marie Ferrier began his career as an artist. He then became interested in photography and began to experiment with the new medium, initially becoming known for his portraits of notable French people.

By 1851, Ferrier had settled in Paris and in that year he exhibited at the Great Exhibition in London. His work so impressed the organizers that, together with the English photographer, Hugh Owen, he was asked to make photographs of the exhibits.

In 1855, Ferrier exhibited at the Exposition Universelle of Paris, where he was awarded a silver medal. He is credited with creating the first glass stereoviews for the Brewster stereoscope in 1852. These became very popular and in 1857 he produced several series of stereoviews of France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Greece and Turkey.

In 1859 Ferrier went into partnership with his son and with another stereo photographer, Charles Soulier, with the business being sold in 1863 to Léon & Lévy, a company that specialized in stereoscopic views and picture postcards. However, Ferrier and Soulier continued to sell their photographs through the company.

Ferrier continued to work as a photographer until his death in 1889. His photographs are held in collections around the world. These amazing photos were taken by Claude-Marie Ferrier that show street scenes of Europe in the 1850s.