Fernande was the favorite model of Jean Agélou. He photographs her for several years. The first photos of her appear in the magazine L’Étude Académique in July 1910 and the last known photos are from 1913. Little is known about her life. She is presumably Jean Agélou’s lover and probably works as a prostitute. A found postcard with her image contains the text “My photo in 1912, Fernande”. She might used the cards as business cards[1-p.156].
She is arguably the first pin-up in history and her photos are still much loved by collectors. Some sources claim that she was Fernande Barrey[2], but there is no evidence for this.
8,5x17cm paper card stereoview published by Éditions S.T.L.
Two stereoviews which are probably made during the same session judging by the decor. The first one is a 8,5x17cm paper card stereoview published by Éditions S.T.L., the other is a rare 6x13cm glass stereoview by an unknown publisher:
A young Fernande appears in a photo from Jules Richard’s Atrium collection. She is the woman on the left:
45x107mm glass stereoview by Vérascope Richard
References
- Bourdon, Christian. Jean Agélou, de l’académisme à la photographie de charme, 2006, p.155-156
- Fernande Barrey – via en.wikipedia.org
- Perin, Jacques. Jules Richard et la Magie du Relief, Part 3, 1993, p.141