[Méry LAURENT]. Henri MAIRET. 2 photographs by Méry Laurent; La Photographie Nouvelle. Paris, c. 1896. Modern cloth slipcase. Méry Laurent at her villa des Talus, 9 boulevard Lannes. Two rare silver prints on strong cardboard captioned: "La Photographie Nouvelle, (Procédé H. Mairet)/ 17, Boul. Haussmann, Paris// All prints are made instantly at home, at any time of the day or night", or variant: "H. Mairet, (Photographie nouvelle)"... 1) The captivating photo of the lunch (or dinner) with Mallarmé and Méry served by the diligent Elisa Sosset (22.8 x 28.5). [Another print was in the Mallarmé-Morel collection (no. 199) as anonymous, sold for 3,000 (reprod. p. 78-79)]. 2) Unpublished photograph of Méry reading by his piano (22.4 x 28.6), in a plush, overcrowded interior where, in fact, of paintings by his many artist friends, one glimpses only the inverted reflection in the mirror of L'Automne, his oil portrait by Manet (Musée de Nancy), see the print of the same space without Méry [next no./3]. Henri MAIRET (1850-1902), pioneer of "instant photography" of the stage in France, was one of the leading specialists in the genre in the 1890s, collaborating with numerous theater artists and periodicals that widely distributed his shots. "The H. Mairet smokeless magnesium flash process was invented in 1892. He obtained excellent results in the poorly-lit dressing rooms and foyers of the Comédie-Française, for which he was the official photographer. In 1893, his first tests were exhibited in newspaper rooms, and the Société française de photographie awarded him a prize for brightness control. He was awarded the Palmes académiques in 1895. By the end of 1893, thanks to his odorless, smokeless and, above all, fireproof process, it had become the fashion of the day to call this operator at home to distribute some souvenir to guests, via advertising inserts. A former actress, Méry knew all about it and, given her means, was able to organize an expensive photoshoot at home. Blunted corners and minor ink soiling on 2nd. Reference: Elizabeth Emery, "L'éclairage artificiel sur scène (1891-1914). Henri Mairet, la Nouvelle Photographie et la valorisation de la mise en scène", in Revue d'histoire du théâtre, n° 283, July-Sept. 2019. Provenance: Élisa Sosset, the devoted Nancy chambermaid, with ink annotations by her niece on verso, - invaluable for location. Initially a universal legatee in usufruct, Élisa inherited the rue de Rome furniture and a sum of money.