MELLOT (Philippe) — MARVILLE (Charles). Paris Upside Down. M - Lot 176

MELLOT (Philippe) — MARVILLE (Charles). Paris Upside Down. Marville Photographs 1852–1870. Paris, Éditions de Lodi, [2001]. Large folio, publisher’s burgundy cardboard binding, black-and-white illustrated covers, burgundy cloth spine; very abundant black-and-white photographic illustrations. A major monograph devoted to the vanished Paris of the Second Empire, bringing together the photographs of Charles Marville (1813–1879) and commentary by Philippe Mellot. Marville was commissioned to photograph the neighborhoods and streets of old Paris at a time when Haussmann’s major urban renewal projects were about to profoundly alter its appearance. His images now constitute a major documentary record of the capital before and during its transformation. This edition combines the two previously published works, *Paris sens dessus-dessous* and *Le Nouveau Paris sens dessus-dessous*, into a single volume. The first edition of *Paris sens dessus-dessous*, published in 1991, comprised 303 pages and more than 300 photographs; this expanded edition includes nearly 500 photographs. The cover reads “Marville Photographs 1852–1877,” while the title page states “Marville Photographs 1852–1870.” This discrepancy is also found in later editions: the BnF explicitly notes that the cover of the 2004 edition reads “1852–1877.” The book is particularly interesting for its organization by arrondissement, juxtaposing Marville’s photographs with Mellot’s historical notes: streets that no longer exist, remodeled neighborhoods, Les Halles, the area around the Louvre, Île de la Cité, old suburbs, etc. It thus goes beyond a simple photo album to constitute a true topography of pre-Haussmannian Paris. Condition: very good copy. Sturdy cloth binding and interior in very fresh condition; a few superficial signs of wear on the binding, with no apparent major defects.