Nadar. Bibliothèque Nationale, 1965. Exhibit catalog.

Catalog for a major exhibit with 410 items, some illustrated. Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (1820-1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar, was a French portrait photographer, caricaturist, journalist, and aviation pioneer who took the first aerial photographs from a balloon. Very good, lightly soiled on rear cover, small spot of wear lower right corner of front cover. Wraps, text in French. Summary:

Nadar (1965) is an exhibition catalog published by the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, France. The publication was curated to document a major retrospective honoring Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (1820–1910), the legendary French photographer, caricaturist, and journalist widely known by his singular pseudonym, Nadar.

Featuring introductory text by Étienne Dennery, the esteemed administrator-general of the Bibliothèque Nationale, the catalog stands as an essential institutional review of Nadar’s pioneering impact on 19th-century visual culture.

Core Themes & Content

• A Comprehensive Historical Index: The catalog serves as a rigorous visual and textual directory, cataloging 410 items featured in the physical retrospective. It traces Nadar's multi-faceted career from his early sketches to his revolutionary work behind the lens.

• The Pantheon of 19th-Century Celebrity: The core of the volume outlines Nadar’s definitive mastery of portraiture. It logs his iconic, character-driven photographs of Europe’s creative and intellectual elite—capturing the raw essence of cultural radicals such as Charles Baudelaire, Eugène Delacroix, George Sand, Sarah Bernhardt, and Victor Hugo.

• Technological Innovation and Aviation: Beyond studio portraiture, the publication details Nadar's daring work as a technical vanguard and enthusiastic aeronaut. The catalog documents his history-making achievements, including:

  • The Dawn of Aerial Photography: Capturing the world's very first aerial photographs from the basket of a tethered hot-air balloon over Paris.

  • Subterranean Exploration: His early, experimental use of artificial electric light to map and photograph the Paris Catacombs and sewers.

• The Caricaturist’s Eye: The catalog tracks Nadar's bohemian roots in the Parisian press. It indexes his lithographic masterwork, the Panthéon Nadar, a massive collective caricature compiling hundreds of contemporary writers, artists, and journalists into unified satirical prints.

The 1965 Nadar catalog elevates a legendary figure past the simple definition of a portraitist. Through the Bibliothèque Nationale's vast archival lens, the publication frames Nadar as a consummate 19th-century entrepreneur, technology innovator, and conceptual visionary who fundamentally mapped the creative soul of Paris while breaking the physical and technological boundaries of early photography.