Par
Yann Defacque
Published on
Oct 7, 2024 at 12:34 p.m.
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Ten years before the start of the First World Wara photo studio was created at Abbeville (Summa) by Marcel Augustin Alexandre Girard. 120 years later, the studio is still located on rue du Maréchal Foch.
A beautiful and long family story
The studio Girard was thus born less than a century after the birth of photography. The first known photograph dates back to 1827 and the first photographic process dates from 1839.
François Girard, the 4th generation, looks back on the beautiful and long history of his family who lived to the rhythm of the shots and who knew how to adapt to the evolution of photography.
The studio destroyed twice
“My great-grandfather who created the studio worked with Édouard Zarski who settled in Abbeville at 12 rue Saint-Jean desprès in 1888 by opening a photographic workshop. The studio was then taken over in 1931 by my grandfather Marcel Auguste Édouard Girard who had joined his father returning from the war in 1919.
A studio which will find its current address (or almost) with the 2nd generation: “After the destruction of the workshop on rue Saint-Jean desprès, my grandfather and his wife Thérèse moved to 51 rue du Maréchal Foch” recalls François Girard.
But the terrible bombings of May 1940 with its incendiary bombs razed a large part of the Abbeville city center, including the photo studio completely destroyed. “When the studio was hit by the bombs, there were flames of all colors coming out of the building. The family opened a new studio in a barracks in the Saint-Gilles district while waiting for the reconstruction of the city center. »
I grew up at the store.
We will have to wait for the reconstruction of the city to see the Girard studio open at its current address, 25 rue du Maréchal Foch.
“When the town hall was built and the buildings surrounding it, there wasn’t much room left for the studio. Before, he was much bigger. I remember that my grandfather used the glass roof for lighting in the studio by drawing curtains” recalls François Girard.
Bernard Girard et son 6X6 Hasselblad
The 3rd generation took over with Bernard Girard (died in 2017) taking over the management of the company in 1964 with the help of his wife Michelle. Many Abbeville residents remember Bernard Girard carrying out his reports with his 6X6 Hasselblad placed on a tripod.
François did not hesitate for long to follow in his father’s footsteps.
“I grew up in the store, living in the apartment above. After the 3rd, I headed towards photography. I joined an art school in Tournai before doing a professional photography baccalaureate. After the army, I started working at the studio with my father in 1985, joined ten years later by my brother Bruno. »
Independence with the first minilab in 1989
The Abbeville studio then became independent with the arrival of a minilab in 1989, “one of the first in France. I remember that a Japanese technician, a Frenchman and a German were present for the installation” indicates François Girard. “We were thus able to produce our prints and enlargements. »
If Bruno retired in 2020, François plans to “slow down in 2025 to make way for my daughters Lucie and Marie. I am happy that a new generation will continue the history of the studio. »
The secret of such longevity, according to the Girard family, lies in “a loyal clientele spanning several generations, service and advice. We have made significant investments such as an efficient identity studio. We still take family photos. We want to develop school photography by offering parents the opportunity to order photos online. »
A fine example of transmitting know-how and values that their ancestors would be proud of.
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