During a 2023 artist residency at the Château de Bouthonvilliers in Dangeau, France, Canadian photographer Grahame Lynch uncovered a significant trove of historical photographic materials dating back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Lynch, who teaches at Toronto Metropolitan University with his partner Colleen Schindler, discovered a long-forgotten chemical darkroom and a collection of glass plate negatives that had been stored in poor condition for decades.
The chateau’s owner, Édouard de Verdun, revealed that his ancestor Maurice de Possesse had been an avid amateur photographer during the Belle Époque, a period of prosperity in France following the Franco-Prussian war. Upon investigating, Lynch found thousands of glass negatives in deteriorating boxes in the garage, many affected by water damage and environmental exposure.
The collection, numbering approximately 2,500 negatives, includes formal portraits, holiday scenes, and images documenting broader societal activities of the era. Among the images were 70 boxes of negatives related to the 1900 Paris Exposition, showcasing the event’s elaborate pavilions and cultural displays. Photographs also reflected the contributions of Maurice’s two sons, Albin and Henri, who pursued photography, with Albin’s education in painting evident in some compositions.
Recognizing the importance of the discovery, Lynch and Schindler returned in 2024 with Montreal cinematographer Etienne Proulx to begin cleaning, cataloguing, and digitizing the fragile negatives. They worked carefully to preserve the material, as some glass plates showed signs of emulsion deterioration and physical damage, including cracks and double exposures caused by fused negatives. Digital photography of the negatives allowed them to create enlarged prints, revealing intricate details not easily seen in the original contact prints, which are roughly the size of a small paperback.
The project, now called Studio de Maurice, has garnered attention at Gallery Stratford in Stratford, Ontario, where a curated exhibition titled *Recovered Light: Studio de Maurice and a Century in Glass* opened recently and runs through October 11. The exhibit features a range of images, from the Paris Exposition scenes to damaged negatives where the artists have embraced the visual effects as a form of creative expression.
The de Verdun family, who continue to operate the chateau as a farming estate and event venue, have aided in matching some negatives with existing family photos, though many images remain previously unseen by descendants. They have expressed interest in preserving the collection locally while sharing the historical legacy with a wider audience. The artists hope the exhibition will tour other Canadian locations, and they are encouraging French institutions to participate in conserving this significant photographic archive.