André Jammes

Jammes, André and Marie-Thérèse, French antiquarian book dealers who began collecting photography in 1955. Over more than 25 years, concentrating on items relating to the first century of photography, they assembled the most important private collection in the field, especially regarding early French photography, the photographically illustrated book, and the history of photomechanical processes. Acquisitions were made from book dealers in London and Paris (Goldsmith, Lambert, Maggs Brothers), from great private collectors (Braive, Gilles, Sirot), and from photographers' descendants (Charles Nègre's workshop, Niépce's correspondence). The Jammes brought discipline to photographic collecting and, from the early 1960s, mounted several historical exhibitions based on their collection: A Century of Photography from Niépce to Man Ray (1965), French Primitive Photography (1969), Niépce to Atget (1977), From Niépce to Stieglitz (1982), and The Art of French Calotype (1983). André also published extensively on early photography, including books on Nègre (1963), Talbot (1973), and Bayard (1975). Since the early 1980s many of their works have entered French and American public collections by donation and purchase. In October 1999 and March 2002, important parts of their collection were sold at three separate auctions in London and Paris, achieving record prices.

— Quentin Bajac

Bibliography

• Jammes, A., Niépce to Atget: The First Century of Photography from the Collection of André Jammes (1977).
• Sotheby's, Paris, La Photographie I, II, III: Collection Marie-Thérèse et André Jammes (1999, 2002)