early life and career
claude-marie ferrier was born in lyon, france in 1811. he began his career as an artist, studying at the
école nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de lyon. he then became interested in photography and began to experiment with the new medium, initially becoming known for his portraits of notable french people.
collaboration with hugh owen
in 1851,
claude-marie ferrier collaborated with the english photographer
hugh owen to make photographs of the exhibits at the great exhibition in london. their work so impressed the organizers that they were asked to create more than 140 bound sets of reports and accompanying photographs, known as the
exhibition of the works of industry of all nations. these were presented to queen victoria, heads of foreign governments, the exhibition commissioners, and the
british museum.
awards and recognition
in 1855,
claude-marie 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.
partnership and legacy
initially,
claude-marie ferrier collaborated with
jules duboscq, with the two selling each other’s stereoviews. this arrangement came to an end when duboscq experienced financial difficulties. in 1859, ferrier went into partnership with his son and with another stereo photographer,
charles soulier. the business was 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.
claude-marie ferrier continued to work as a photographer until his death on 13 july 1889. his photographs are held in collections around the world, including the
j. paul getty museum. you can learn more about
claude-marie ferrier and hugh owen and their work on
TopImpressionists.com or visit the
wikipedia page for more information.
