L’Histoire de la photographie par Helmut Gernsheim : emprunt, citation et détournement
The history of photography by Helmut Gernsheim: quotes, borrowings and misrepresentations

Summary/Abstract: In 1955, Helmut and Alison Gernsheim publish, in English, The History of Photography. The second edition, dated 1969, heavily revised and augmented with longer chapters, becomes a fundamental reference in the genesis of the discipline. However, although the opus presents with multiple references within the body of the text, its footnotes remain sparse. Helmut Gernsheim fails to mention his borrowings from other authors, whether from published books or old press articles. A comparative research between previous histories of photography and Gernsheim’s text underlines his great intellectual debt to pioneers such as Lucia Moholy or Erich Stenger. Integrated within the text, the quotes are neutralized by a complete absence of any distinctive sign. Helmut Gernsheim appropriates others’words up to the point of giving them brand new meanings. His book, co-written with his wife Alison Gernsheim, articulates a precise vision of the photographic practice, which should remain, in their opinion, pure – meaning devoid of retouching or any manipulation. The analysis of periodicals from the 19th century, specialized in Photography, allow us to re-connect to their original sources the quotes, borrowings and misrepresentations made by Helmut Gernsheim, in this apparently scientific publication.

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