Photographs by Auguste François : Paraguay (1894-1895).
In often very difficult conditions, Auguste
François (1857-1935) was French Consul in Asunción in Paraguay in 1894 and 1895. He brought back from this mission
approximately 300 negatives with captions. He created albums of some of the
prints that he made himself.
Although the quality is not always as good as
it could be, this collection offers a very rare photographic account of daily
life in Paraguay in the 19th century and also of the settlements of
the French colonists who had taken up residence in the country. Some photos
were taken at sea or during stopovers as the Consul travelled to his post, in
Lisbonne, Dakar, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Buenos Aires and La Plata. Others
were taken in Argentina, in the Andes that he climbed to the Chilean border.
The collection also includes some images of Chile, but the photographer is
unknown.
In 2010 a digital version of the entire
collection was given to the Cultural Centre of the
Republic El Cabildo in Asunción. It
is recorded in the Cultural Observatory’s data base on CDS/ISIS WINISIS and
will be published on Cabildo’s Web site. In March 2011, an exhibition was
organised there in collaboration with the French embassy in Paraguay.
Note: The few photos
presented below aim simply to provide a quick overview of the content of the
collection. The images reproduced only
give a poor idea of the quality of the original prints.
© Association Auguste François - Paris
PA5_23: Asunción, the town seen from Rio Paraguay.
PA2_32: Guarani merchants in Caazapa. PA5_61: Asunción: Banks of the Rio Paraguay: hanging out the
washing.
PA5_15: Asunción, the market near the station. PA2_24: Asunción, station
market.
PA5_53: Caacupé, the crowd gathered at the spring of the Virgin Mary. PA5_54: Caacupé, camp of pilgrims’ wagons.
PA2_28: At the San Lorenzo festival. PAM_30: Caacupé, overall
panorama - 1894.
PA2_23: Asunción, the Calle Oliva (road of the French Consulate). PA2_22: Asunción, the Calle Espana.
PAM_12: The Villa Rica train at Areguá station. PAG_20: The Villa Rica
train to Asunción.
PAM_18: In the campo near Patino Cue. PAM_14:
Festival at San Lorenzo.
PAG_46: Group of
Guarani people (Caazapa Province). ALMF_14: Crocodile hunt in the Chaco. A.
François and Mr. Marchand,
French Ambassador in
Buenos Aires.
PA4_8: Gonzalez Colony, French colonists’ wagons. PAM_26: Gonzalez Colony,
French colonists.
PA2_44: Indian’s Bridge in the Gran Chaco. PA4_11: Gonzalez
colony, a rancho in the woods
PA5_26: Homes near Asunción during the 1895 floods. PA5_43:
Guarani rancho on the banks of the Rio Confuso.
PA2_38: Toba Indian camp in the Gran Chaco. PA2_42: Toba Indians
in the Gran Chaco..
PAG_21: Preparation of an “assado con cuccro” in the bush. PAG_51: In the campo,
carving up an ox.
PA5_57: Guarani women at the Choro fountain. PAG_22: In the vicinity
of Asunción, near the Choro fountain.
PA5_45: On the Lambaré road, women riding mules. PA4_13: Indigenous women on horseback in the virgin forest.
PA5_25: Indigenous rancho near Asunción. PA5_37:
Thee Rio Paraguay during the 1895 floods.
© Association Auguste François - Paris
Updated: 28th November 2012