Although the process was still new, Étretat was photographed very early on by the pioneers of paper photography, from the early 1850s onwards. These photographers were not professionals, but aristocrats or wealthy middle-class holidaymakers who were passionate about this new medium and wanted to explore its potential. Their creative freedom led them to produce highly inventive photographs that were not intended to be marketed. They were all founding members of the Société française de photographie, founded in 1854.
Paul Gaillard was one of the first to attempt to capture the movement of waves or a woman running on the beach. Most importantly, Alphonse Davanne stands out as a major figure in the history of photography in Étretat. A chemist by training, he became interested in this new artistic practice out of curiosity and was probably the author of a first series of photographs taken there in 1852, which included a self-portrait. Ten years later, upon his return to the town, he produced a series of large, spectacular photographs that stood out for their technical perfection.
This phase of elitist and inventive photography was quickly followed by that of mechanical reproduction: from the 1870s onwards, Étretat became one of the centres of the postcard boom, under the impetus of the publisher Neurdein Frères.

Labels

Attributed to Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
A Street, from the collection Photographic Memories, Étretat
1853
Salt print from a paper negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Attributed to Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
Two Fishing Boats, from the collection Photographic Memories, Étretat
1853
Salt print from a paper negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Attributed to Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
Three Fishing Boats, from the collection French Souvenirs Photographiques, Étretat
1853
Salt print from a paper negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Attributed to Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
Self-portrait next to a Caloge, from the collection Photographic Memories, Étretat
1853
Salt print from a paper negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie
The beginnings of photographic printing in the early 1850s gave rise to attempts to market photo series. In 1853, the Bisson brothers published Souvenirs photographiques, Étretat, a collection of five photographs showing views of the village, which are among the earliest known examples. The author's name does not appear, but there are several clues that it may have been Alphonse Davanne, a chemist by training, who would again take photographs of Étretat in 1862. Here he is depicted in a self-portrait, posing under a thatched shelter against a caloge*, while the cliff can be seen in the background.
* An out-of-use boat with a thatched roof used to store fishing tackle.

Anonymous
Étretat, Two Fishing Boats in Front of the Cliff of Amont
Ca. 1853
Salt print from a paper negative
Fécamp, Pascal Servain Collection

Anonymous
Étretat, the Manneporte
Ca. 1853
Salt print from a paper negative
Fécamp, Pascal Servain Collection
This photograph is one of a series of five, the author of which is unknown. The presence of registration plates on the boats, visible on the other photograph shown here, makes it possible to determine their date, as this obligation was made compulsory from 1852 onwards, and administrative registers record new boats’ entry into service. This view of the Needle and the Porte d'Aval through the Manneporte arch provides a picturesque setting that was destined to be a great success. The presence of pencil highlights suggests that this print may have belonged to an artist and served as a study for a drawing or painting.

Paul Gaillard
Hyères, Var (France), 1832 – Paris (France), 1890
Étretat, the Porte d’Amont
Ca. 1855
Albumen print from a paper negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Paul Gaillard
Hyères, Var (France), 1832 – Paris (France), 1890
Étretat, the Beach and the Porte d’Aval
Ca. 1855
Albumen print from a paper negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Paul Gaillard
Hyères, Var (France), 1832 – Paris (France), 1890
Étretat, the Porte d’Aval
Ca. 1855
Albumen print from a paper negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie
Paul Gaillard was an amateur photographer; a founding member of the Société française de photographie, he exhibited his work at its Paris exhibitions. While staying in Étretat in circumstances that remain unclear, but most likely as a summer holidaymaker, he experimented with shutter speeds. He tried to capture the movement of the waves or the effect of moving figures. This proved to be a technical challenge, given the long exposure times that resulted in blurred effects, as witnessed by the blurry woman running along the beach on the left of one of the shots.

Paul Gaillard
Hyères, Var (France), 1832 – Paris (France), 1890
Étretat, the Beach and the Cliff of Aval
Ca. 1855
Albumen print from a paper negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
No. 8 - Étretat, Large Cliff [the Porte d’Aval]
Ca. 1862
Albumen print from a glass negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
Étretat, the Caïque
Ca. 1862
Albumen print from a glass negative
Fécamp, Pascal Servain Collection

Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
No. 5 - Étretat, Capstan
Ca. 1862
Albumen print from a glass negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
No. 5 - Étretat, Capstan
Ca. 1862
Albumen print from a glass negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
No. 2 - Étretat, left Cliff [the beach and the Porte d’Aval]
Ca. 1862
Albumen print from a glass negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
No. 6 - Étretat, Maigret House
Ca. 1862
Albumen print from a glass negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie
This photograph, taken from the Amont Cliff, shows the gradual transformation of the village of Étretat, where villas were built to accommodate summer visitors from the early 1850s onwards. Two developers from Paris, Théodore and Édouard Maigret, built a private terraced housing estate along two parallel paths on the cliffside, giving everyone a view of the sea and the Porte d'Aval in a privileged green setting. Several artists, including Eugène Le Poittevin and Hugues Merle, made this exceptional site their home.

Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
No 1 - Étretat, the Chapel [the beach and the Porte d’Amont]
Ca. 1862
Albumen print from a glass negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
No. 12 - Étretat, the Manneporte
Ca. 1862
Albumen print from a glass negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
Étretat, the Needle and the Porte d’Aval
Ca. 1862
Albumen print from a glass negative
Fécamp, Pascal Servain Collection

Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
No. 9 - Étretat, Needle
Ca. 1862
Albumen print from a glass negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie

Alphonse Davanne
Paris (France), 1824 – Saint-Cloud, Hauts-de-Seine (France), 1912
No. 3 - Étretat, Chambre des Demoiselles
Ca. 1862
Albumen print from a glass negative
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, département des Estampes et de la Photographie