Édouard Baldus (1813-1889) Château de la Faloise, 1857. Frédéric Bourgeois de Mercey and family. Salt paper print from a collodion glass negative, mounted on card. 31.8 x 41.5 cm Provenance : François Lepage Collection, Paris. Malcolm Daniel specifies that the shots in the château grounds were probably taken in 1857. The friendship between Édouard Baldus and Frédéric Bourgeois de Mercey was certainly decisive in the photographer's career. A founding member of the Société Héliographique (later Société Française de Photographie), Frédéric Bourgeois de Mercey was also a member of the selection committee for the famous Mission Héliographique, during which Édouard Baldus distinguished himself, notably through his mastery of negative assembly.