Of Bricks & Light: Destruction/Preservation

Alphonse J. Liebert (1827-1914; active U.S. and France): Ruins of the Hotel de Ville (City Hall of Paris). Albumen print, 9-1/2″ x 7-3/4″,1871.

Annotated in pencil on verso of the mount: “Liebert photographe.” Liebert moved to Paris in 1863 after operating a photographic studio in gold-rush California. In 1872, he published an album of one hundred photographs titled Les Ruines de Paris et ses Environs 1870-71, depicting the destruction of buildings and monuments from the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune.