Born Sophie Rostopchine in Saint Petersburg and later settled in France, the Comtesse de Ségur became one of the 19th century’s most beloved authors of children’s literature. Beginning her literary career in her late fifties, she transformed personal memories and a sharp moral vision into stories that blended humor, tenderness, and discipline. Her best-known works, including Les Malheurs de Sophie (Sophie’s Misfortunes) and the Les Petites Filles modèles (Good Little Girls), remain classics of French children’s literature, cherished for their vivid characters and moral lessons. Writing for her grandchildren, she created narratives that combined playful mischief with moral instruction, reflecting both the affectionate and didactic ideals of her time.

Issued in installments by the Parisian publisher Goupil between 1876 and 1884, the Galerie Contemporaine, Littéraire, Artistique brought together 241 portraits of prominent figures in literature, music, science, and politics offring the French public an unprecedented visual gallery of the people shaping their cultural and civic life during the Second Empire and the early Third Republic.

The project was fueled by a spirit of national pride and by a new, more modern fascination with fame. Its subtitle—Littéraire Artistique—signaled a desire to elevate photography as a vehicle for high culture, while also capitalizing on the growing appetite for celebrity portraiture.
The images themselves were printed as woodburytypes giving the portraits a richness and permanence that aligned perfectly with the project’s lofty cultural ambitions.

Today, Galerie Contemporaine endures not only as a milestone in the history of photography and publishing, but also as a vivid record of the artists, scientists, and statesmen whose lives and ideas defined modern France.