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FRÉDÉRIC DE SMET (1876-1948)
COLLECTION DIAPOSITIVES SUR VERRE
COLLECTIE DIA’S OP GLAS
A kaleidoscopic image
The remarkable collection of about
12,000
slides and negatives on glass being
auctioned here, belonged to Frédéric de Smet (1876-1948), a Ghent author,
art critic and artist.
Frédéric de Smet was a driving force in Ghent art circles in the late 19th and
the first half of the 20th century. He likely held conferences and talks using
his extensive collection of slides. Pointing in this direction is the Molteni
projector, also auctioned here (lot nr. 262), which made this possible at the
time. De Smet’s interest obviously went to art in the strict sense of the term.
This is why a part of is collection, circa 2,000 items, are dedicated to objects
of art (paintings and sculptures).
Besides art, this impressive collection of de Smet - son of a well-off bourgeois
family of Ghent industrials - offers a sketch of the daily life and the interests
of this bourgeoisie. There are, for example, many slides showing the extensive
family, their acquaintances and their activities. Discovering the identity
behind the many people portrayed, could be an interesting research topic, but
is less relevant in this context.
What also features extensively is another part of de Smet’s life, namely
travelling. These travels undoubtedly resulted in many pictures. Although it
is not always clear who made the photographs, a large part were definitely
by de Smet himself. The “Directory of photographers in Belgium 1839-1905”
mentions him as a member of the “Association belge de photographie”
between 1901-1905. As to the rest, he certainly bought a lot of slides from
specialised firms in, amongst others, England (Newton Fleet Street and E.G.
Wood, London), France (E. Mazo, Paris) and Belgium (Ed. Beernaert’s Dry
Plate Company, Ghent).
Characteristics
: slides and negatives on glass, ca. 10 x 8.5 cm, ca. 12 x 9
cm, or square ca. 8 x 8 cm, edges finished with black tape. A negligible part
with cracks. Stored in small long wooden boxes with sliding lids and white
porcelain knobs.
Methodology
: as good as all slides in this collection were looked at. The
classification - by theme or country - which was already present in the
wooden boxes, was largely respected. Here and there, slides were placed