The archive of La Section Photographique de l’Armée (SPA) contains 539 albums[1] with photos categorized by location or theme. The collection is now known as Album Valois, named after the location of the SPA archive at Rue de Valois in Paris[1]. The albums Meuse contain a series of photos of the battle of Verdun. At… Continue reading The stereoviews of Alfred Charbonnier
Tag: SPA
The SPCA in Audignicourt
This 6x13cm glass stereoview was published by La Stéréoscopie Universelle and has a caption “Audignicourt – Tank Renault – 9282”. It’s a rich image with good composition. Most interesting however is the person in the foreground. The soldier is photographing or filming. He photographs or films from a tripod, which indicates that he’s using heavy… Continue reading The SPCA in Audignicourt
Gott strafe England
This stereoview shows a group of German prisoners of war guarded by French soldiers on horses. They’re walking along a house with the text Gott strafe England! 1914/15. The photo was taken in the village of Bucy-le-Long in Northern France. Gott strafe England (“May God punish England”) was a slogan used by the German army during the… Continue reading Gott strafe England
Autochrome stereoviews of the Great War – part I
Less than one-thousandth of the images from the First World War are colour images[1]. Most were produced by the photography unit of the French army, La Section Photographique et Cinématographique de l’Armée (SPCA). Photographers like Paul Castelnau, Fernand Cuville and Albert Samama Chikli made images by using the autochrome colour process at various locations of… Continue reading Autochrome stereoviews of the Great War – part I