Héliogravures : the unpublished photogravure process of Édouard Baldus

This thesis project uses an incomplete set of twenty six héliogravure prints by Édouard Baldus (1813-1889) from the publication "Les Principaux Monument de la France, reproduit en héliogravure par E. Baldus 1869-70", which are held at the Art Gallery of Ontario. The prints are utilized as a primary means of analysis in an attempt to understand Baldus' working method, as he never published his photogravure process, and about which little is known. The thesis is composed of five sections: 1) a discussion of Baldus' place in photographic history; 2) an examination of the compete set of forty five héliogravures in the publication based on the copy at the Canadian Centre for Architecture; 3) a case study looking at the relationship between Baldus' albumen prints and his héliogravures; 4) a second case study analyzing and comparing the physical nature of the photogravure works of William Henry Fox Talbot, Charles Nègre, Peter Henry Emerson and Alfred Steiglitz; with the intension of, 5) deciphering the method Baldus could have used in printing his héliogravures.