Pierre Marie Alexis Dieulefils (P. Dieulefils)
Pierre Marie Alexis Dieulefils (January 21, 1862 - November 19, 1937) was a French photographer, soldier, and publisher, primarily known for his work in Cambodia and Vietnam during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Dieulefils was born in Malestroit, Morbihan, France. He traveled to Tonkin as a non-commissioned officer in the 24th artillery regiment of Vannes with French colonial forces in 1885. He settled in Hanoi, where in 1888 he established a photo studio at 61 Rue Paul Bert, thus becoming Hanoi's first photographer. Along with a friend and fellow photographer, Fournereau, he traveled extensively in French Indochina, producing more than 5000 photos, which were sold separately, bound into books, and reduced as postcards. His colonial photographs were presented to great acclaim at the 1889 Paris Exposition Universelle. He went on to participate in subsequent exhibitions in 1900 (Paris), 1902 (Hanoi), 1906 (Marseille), 1908 (London), and 1910 (Brussels). He traveled to Morocco around 1915 and also completed a series of photographs there. According to the Dieulefils family, he remained in Indochina until about 1925, however, his output ceased around 1920. Other references suggest he had settled in Paris by 1913.
AKA: P. Dieulefils
Stunning zinco photos of Saigon, its people, and environs
A stunning c. 1909 Pierre Dieulefils photo book of Saigon (Ho-Chi-Min City), French Indochina (Vietnam). The photos capture Saigon at the peak of its colonial decadence, but importantly, also focus on the Vietnamese people, illustrating a wide array of commercial and social activities ranging from port scenes in the Chinese enclave of Cholon to theater troupes and tribal guerrilla warriors. (more details)