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On October 3rd, "The Analog Years": AFP's first photo auction

On October 3, AFP will auction nearly 200 pieces from its analog archives, the first sale of its kind. The auction will feature photographic treasures – some are snapshots from famous moments in history while others are lesser-known photographic ‘treasures’, capturing scenes of everyday life.

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    26 August 1944 – Paris, France – A Parisian woman kisses General de Gaulle, during a parade on the Champs-Elysees after Paris’ liberation. © AFP

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    1947 – New York, United States – Louis Armstrong playing in his dressing room for a little boy before performing in a jazz cabaret in New York. © Eric Schwab / AFP

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    15 November 1967 – Paris, France – Johnny Hallyday on the stage of the Palais des Sports in Paris. © AFP

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    11 November 1957 – Paris, France – Jeanne Lanvin-Castillo fashion show, in Paris. © AFP

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    30 April 1955 – Paris, France – Salvador Dali painting a rhinoceros with Vermeer’s famous painting “The Lacemaker” at the Vincennes Zoo. © AFP

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    31 january 1974 – Paris, France – At 2.15 p.m., a robbery with hostage taking took place at the Crédit de la Bourse in Paris. The criminals run away with the loot. A customer is wounded during the shooting. © Daniel Janin / AFP

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    27 July 1973 – Maputo, Mozambique – Training of the Portuguese army special forces at Dondo military camp of Maputo during the Mozambican War of Independence. © Claude Juvenal / AFP

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    6 November 1979 – Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Royaume Uni – James Baldwin, at home in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, southern France. © Ralph Gatti / AFP

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    10 July 1977 – France – Dutch cyclist Gerben Karstens in front of the pack, during the 8th stage of the 64th Tour de France cycling race, between Angers and Lorient. © Daniel Janin / AFP

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    29 June 1986 – Mexico, Mexico – Diego Maradona holding the World Cup after Argentina’s victory over West Germany in the finals at the Azteca stadium in Mexico City. © AFP

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    06 April 1988 – Kowloon, Hong Kong – An airliner flies over the ageing buildings of Kowloon city, near Kai Tak international airport. © Tommy Cheng / AFP

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    17 December 1992 – Baidoa, Somalia – A Somali child runs towards a relief convoy as a French legionnaire provides security for the transport of food supplies. © Joël Robine / AFP

All are from AFP’s archives, taken before the agency went digital.

The photo auction, featuring pictures from over 50 years of history (1944-1998), offers a rare opportunity for members of the public to purchase AFP photos.

The sale will be held under the direction of DIGARD AUCTION, on October 3 at 14:30 (12:30 GMT) in Paris.
 

 

During the live auction, the bidding will be open:
 

 

The auction will be also open online on ARTSY.NET, the world’s leading platform for online art sales.

"Some photos on sale are real photographic 'surprises', while others are symbolic moments that made international news in the last century. Several have become cult classics,” says Marielle Eudes, AFP’s director of photography.

Some photos are iconic, like the body of Che Guevara, who was killed by the Bolivian army in 1967, or Nelson Mandela with his fist raised after his release from prison in 1990. There are photos of Martin Luther King on the day of his “I have a dream” speech in Washington in 1963, or the French and German leaders François Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl hand in hand at Verdun in 1984.

Events such as the Liberation or May 68 in Paris, images of war, sports, news, stars of music, cinema, fashion or art, and scenes of everyday life are presented in a remarkably diverse catalog.

Buyers will gain a “special edition” on baryta or chromogenic paper, with an AFP stamp and a certificate of authenticity.

The earnings of the auction will be included in AFP’s turnover.

Some of the photographs will be exhibited ahead of the sale on October 3rd at several venues across Paris:
 

  • At the Fisheye Gallery (2, rue de l’Hôpital Saint-Louis, 75010) from September 3 to October 3: The "Made in the USA" works by Eric Schwab, AFP photographer in the late 1940s, will be on exhibit.

 

  • At the we are_ event space from September 13 to October 3 (73, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré, 75008), another 50 photographs will be on display.

 

  • At the Galerie 75FAUBOURG (75, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008) on October 1 and 2, almost the entire collection will be available to see.

 

 

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