Stéréo-Éditions F. Meiller was founded by Fernand Meiller [1]. The company was located at Boulevard Lamoureux 71 and there was a store at Rue Gracieuse 39 in Paris. It was a prominent manufacturer, publisher and seller of stereoviews from the First World War.
The company published and sold 45x107mm and 6x13cm glass stereoviews and paper card stereoviews. The stereoviews were sold under their own name and delivered in their own cardboard boxes. The 45x107mm slides are recognizable by the stylish paper labels.
It has the same number as the glass slide. Note that this image is mirrored and uncropped.
A report of the Exposition de Photographie [2] which took place from 15 February to 1 March 1925 and where Stéréo-Éditions F. Meiller exhibited their stereoviews:
This stand was undoubtedly the one that drew the most attention. This is because Maison Meiller had collected a collection of striking war photographs in warm tones on Lumière-Jougla plates. They are not staged images, but war events experienced on the spot and captured with striking accuracy… the choice of an unrivaled collection and disturbing by reality, forced the success of this stand… their value is measured by the number of visitors that crowded behind the stereoscopes.
Stéréo-Éditions F. Meiller advertised until the early 1930s with 30,000 [3] to 50,000 [4] stereoview titles of war scenes.
The glass slides are linked to Brentano’s, but the many advertisements and large numbers of stereoviews suggest that Stéréo-Éditions F. Meiller was the wholesaler that supplied Brentano’s, rather than the other way around.
Interesting clues can be found in a 1928 advertisement [5]. Meiller presents himself as “éditeur-fabricant”, which means that he not only sold stereo images, but also produced them. It is followed by “fournitures en gros et vente au détail” (wholesale and retail supplies). As a wholesaler, the company probably supplied stereoviews to resellers who sold the images, either under their own brand names and with their own caption styles and number schemes. Brentano’s bookshop in Paris could be one of the buyers, especially because of this remark:
Seule maison du genre authorized by l’American Legion
(Only maison of its kind authorized by the American Legion).
Brentano’s is known to be one of the few providers to have many stereo images from the American Expeditionary Forces.
Only the address of the company is mentioned here
References
- Le Photographe : organe des photographes professionnels, 1926
- L’Informateur de la photographie, 1925
- Annuaire du commerce Didot-Bottin, 1927
- L’Instantané : journal mensuel de tout amateur photographe, 1932
- Annuaire du commerce Didot-Bottin, 1928
- Catalog Stéréo-Éditions F. Meiller, ca. 1928