Inventor Louis Lumière rewards a client who authorized the use of his portraits to create postcards.

• Letter written and signed by Louis Lumière to Mr Marziou, probably a client who authorized Lumière to use his portraits to create postcards, in exchange for a copy with a photograph of him and his family (our document).
• On the front, the text below and the photograph taken by the Lumière brothers; on the back, the address, with the seal and the mention "Société Lumière - Lyon".
• In French.
• 13.8 cm x 9 cm.
• Lyon, France, April 20, 1904.
• Good condition of conservation.
• Unique piece.

Lyon, April 20, 1904.

Sir,

Having obtained from Mr. Sallerin permission to publish his portraits on postcards on condition that I send him one of them, I am sending you this copy, begging you to accept the expression of my distinguished sentiments.

Lumiere.

Louis Lumière (1864 - 1948) and his brother Auguste, both engineers, invented the cinematograph, a film camera and movie projector. They are considered the fathers of cinema along with Georges Méliès, another Frenchman. They produced some short documentaries to promote the invention, but without believing in its commercial future.

The Lumière brothers were the sons of a photographer and film manufacturer, and lived in the French city of Lyon. Using the materials from the factory, they developed other important techniques, especially in the field of photography: the first color photography process, the dry photographic plate and relief photography.

From 1904 onwards, the postal administration divided the back of the card into two parts, one for correspondence and the other for the address. Therefore, some photographers, such as the Lumière brothers, took advantage of the new space available to promote their productions, which quickly popularized photography throughout the world.

This postcard, written and signed by one of the greatest inventors of the century, becomes a historical document, 100 years before digital photography and the first social networks.