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  • Box of Guilleminot Étoile glossy, high-contrast bromide paper. Manufactured by R. Guilleminot, Boespflug & Cie. in Paris. 20 sheets, 6.5 x 9 cm (2 1/2 x 3 1/2"). Collection Alison Rossiter

    Famous for their centuries-old textile industry, Paris and its environs were a source of high-quality rag which, in proximity to flowing water, provided an ideal environment for paper mills, which needed rag pulp for papermaking. Paris and what is today known as the Seine corridor—the stretch of land from Paris to Le Havre—have been home to many manufacturers of photographic paper. The suburb of Chantilly was the headquarters for Guilleminot (also known as R. Guilleminot, Boespflug et Cie), which, founded in 1858, was one of the oldest photographic paper manufacturers in the world. Popular Guilleminot brands included Riviera, Étoile, and Dinox.

    The As de Trèfle paper manufacturer, owned by Grieshaber Frères et Cie, was based in Saint-Maur, near Paris, and was the producer of the Dora brand. Bauchet, known for its production of photographic postcards, was based in Rueil-Malmaison, in close proximity to sources of spring water. Perhaps the most famous Paris-based company was Kodak-Pathé, in Vincennes, the result of a merger of Eastman Kodak and the Société Française Pathé-Cinema in 1927.

    —Lee Ann Daffner

Manufacturers

  • 1858–1994
    R. Guilleminot Boespflug et Cie

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