French infantry soldiers resting during a march appear in two albumen prints published by E. Bénard of Paris, ca. 1870. Bénard worked as a publisher of artistic photographs at 10 rue de Bagneux, and his stamp appears on works now in the collection of the Petit Palais. Both views have an unusually candid quality for the period, with the soldiers going about their rest rather than arranged for a formal group portrait.

Paris Museums Collections

In the first view, conical bell tents with capped vents stand before a line of trees, and soldiers in dark tunics with epaulettes and kepis mix with comrades in white shirtsleeves beside bedrolls spread on the grass. The second shows rifles with fixed bayonets stacked in pyramids on a slope below a rocky outcrop, with soldiers in greatcoats lying beside their packs and mess tins.

Several figures are softened by movement, a common result of the long exposures required for field photography of the era. Together the two views record the routine of an army at camp and on the march rather than in combat.

The camp view measures approximately 6 3/4 x 3 5/8 inches and the hillside view approximately 6 3/4 x 4 3/8 inches. The reverse bears the credit stamp of E. Bénard, 10 rue de Bagneux, Paris, with the negative number "1595" in pencil in an unidentified hand.