The Agélou Catalogue
In Paris, the Belle Époque was in full swing. In a period characterised by peace, prosperity and innovation, Jean and Georges Agélou, photographers and publishers, dominated one sector of the city’s cultural life: the production of erotic ‘French postcards’. From around 1905 until the start of the 20s, the brothers published nude or semi-nude poses under various marques.
The Agélous avoided laws on public decency by selling their photos by mail order and encouraged collecting by distinguishing their work with identifiable logos. Their main series of postcards were published under the marques JA, with Jean’s initials in a roundel, GA – which later became GP – and JA Paris, the subject of this first volume of the Agélou Catalogue.
The Agélou Catalogue Volume 1 is a resource for postcard collectors, aiming to present as comprehensive a view as possible of the poses included by the Agélous in their JA Paris series.
Complemented with features setting out all we know about the lives and businesses of the Agélou brothers, the Catalogue presents an inventory of all the cards that have so far come to light, and proposes a dialogue among collectors to fill any gaps and perfect our collective knowledge of the talented and, at times, mysterious Agélous.
Volume 1 of the Catalogue covers the most varied and inventive of the brothers’ publishing brands, JA Paris. First advertised in 1912, the JA Paris series show Jean at his experimental best, developing styles and techniques that he first used when contributing to the journal L’Étude Académique and showcased in the cards he published earlier under the JA roundel logo.
The Agélou Catalogue Volume 1 is recommended for deltiologists trying to make sense of their postcard collection and who want to learn more about the artists and models who created these beautiful images.