This 9 x 12 cm camera is a Barby de Luxe, also known as the Exploratrice. It dates back to 1899 and bears the inscription Bte S.G.D.G. (Sans Garantie Du Gouvernement), which is the standard French marking for patented inventions. No. 45 is the patent number.

Built robustly, it features the shutter cocking mechanism typical of some jumelle-style camera from the same era. On the front face, there is a fitting for the pneumatic trigger and an unusual tap for cocking the shutter.

The brass lens with an iris diaphragm ranging from f/8 to f/28 is an Anastigmat Barby f/7, serial number 104, with a focus adjustment. In the bottom right, there is a dial for adjusting the shutter speed.

The camera is equipped with a drawer magazine with a plate counter, containing 12 metal frames.

Take note of the beautiful, intricately designed handle in the 19th-century style.

Barby by Étienne Gérard, Jean-Loup Princelle and Co

Jean Camille Barby, a colonial administrator residing at 34 Rue Monge, had a son named Henri with Mrs. Leschevin on April 5, 1876. They underwent a separation of bodies in 1884, followed by a divorce in 1896. On April 7, 1898, Jean remarried Jeanne Pauline Caroline Métais, a photographer at 8 Rue des Écoles. It's worth noting that these were different addresses, but in reality, they were part of the same building at the corner of the two streets. Also noteworthy is the renumbering of Rue Monge, with 34 becoming 20.
On January 9, 1901, a company named Barby, Métais et Cie was established among these three individuals. On November 11, 1901, this company, in association with Klopcic Janka, obtained a patent for a curtain shutter.

Henri filed other patents and additions under his name, and he appears to be the true inventor, while the company Barby, Métais et Cie managed the Comptoir Photographique Colonial at the addresses 8 Rue des Écoles and 20 Rue Monge, specializing in the sale of photographic equipment and cameras.
The 1901 catalog of the Comptoir, while concise, mentions the relocation of the small construction workshop from Rue Lhomond to the steam factory at 22 Boulevard Kellermann. This was, in fact, the takeover of the factory previously occupied by Attout Tailfer since 1884, located at 63 Rue du Moulin de la Pointe in the 13th arrondissement.
The company Barby et Cie went into judicial liquidation in 1902 and was dissolved in 1903. The assets were auctioned off on February 17, 1904.

The Comptoir Photographique Colonial continued its sales activities with Aubrun and Dardanne until 1910, and then with Eugène Hiard until 1940, with a change in name, becoming the Comptoir Photo-Colonial.
The factory continued to produce cameras under the Nurba brand, first with Aubrun and Dardagne until 1907, and then with Aubertin who retained the same brand in 1908. In 1911, the factory was owned by the association Loret, Vray, Pasquinot, and Duhallier, and later solely by Jean Pasquinot in 1913-14.

Henri Barby passed away in Grasse on May 8, 1952.

Evolution of the companies at 8 Rue des Écoles and 20 Rue Monge:
(34, rue Monge in 1897 and 1898)



In 1897, it was Métais & Cie located at 34 Rue Monge.
From 1898 to 1901, the business was operated by Jeanne Pauline Caroline Métais.
Starting in 1901 and possibly continuing until around 1908, the business operated under the name Barby, Métais & Cie, with the trade name "Comptoir Photographique Colonial." This name was mentioned in directories until 1908.



1910: Aubrun and Dardagne (Trading as Comptoir Photographique Colonial) (Sale to Hiard in 1910)
1910-1940: Eugène Hiard (Trading as Comptoir Photographique Colonial, later as Comptoir Photo-Colonial, with some overlap)




The evolution of companies at 63 Rue du Moulin de la Pointe,
where industrial buildings have been replaced by residential buildings, is as follows:

- 1884-1901: Attout Tailfer
- 1901-1904: Henri Barby (Barby & Cie)
- 1905-1907: Aubrun-Dardagne (under the Nurba brand)
- 1907-1908: Aubertin (under the Nurba brand)
- 1911: Loret, Vray, Pasquinot & Duhallier
- 1913-1914: Jean Pasquinot