Keystone Paris

Keystone Paris is a French photographic agency founded in 1927 by Alexandre Garaï in Paris. It was established as a subsidiary of Keystone-London, itself part of the international Keystone network created by Bert Garaï, a Hungarian émigré who had taken over the Keystone View Company in the United States. The Paris agency quickly became a significant player in photojournalism, covering international news and building an extensive archive. It was the first photographic agency to equip itself with bélinos for remote image transmission. After World War II, Keystone Paris became fully independent from its British parent. At its peak, it maintained offices in Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Milan, Vienna, Madrid, Munich, Rome, Budapest, Barcelona, Stockholm, and São Paulo. In the mid-1980s, the agency ceased press operations to focus on exploiting its documentary collection, which contains more than 10 million documents covering daily life, politics, world history, science and technology, sports, the arts, royal families, and unusual subjects. Following the death of Alexandre Garaï in 1984, the agency briefly came under the control of Agence France-Presse, then was sold to Éric Baschet, owner of the L'Illustration collection, who in turn ceded it to Hachette Filipacchi Médias (Groupe Lagardère). Today, the Keystone France iconographic collection, rich with twelve million images, is distributed by Gamma-Rapho and Getty Images. The agency's legacy is also captured in the 1987 monograph 'Keystone, 60 ans de grands reportages'.

Keystone Paris was founded in 1927 by Alexandre Garaï (1900–1984), the younger brother of Bert Garaï, a Hungarian émigré who had taken over the Keystone View Company in the United States. The Keystone View Company itself was born in 1917 from the association of Lloyd Singley, a Pennsylvania businessman specializing in stereoscopic views, and Bert Garaï, who ran a small press agency called Press Illustrations Service. In 1918, Bert Garaï returned to Europe and chose London to establish the first subsidiary of the Keystone agency. Following the success of the enterprise, Garaï bought back the entire capital and found himself sole head of Keystone View Company, which he renamed Keystone-Pressilu. He opened a headquarters in London and, in 1924, an office in Berlin. The Keystone Paris agency was opened in 1927 by Alexandre Garaï as a subsidiary of Keystone-London. It settled on rue de Richelieu in Paris, in premises rented by the daily newspaper Le Journal, and to cope with its development, in April 1930 it invested in the fifth floor of a building at 25, rue Royale in the 8th arrondissement. In June 1940, the agency took to the road of the exodus aboard a truck converted into a mobile photographic laboratory, and settled in Vichy, while the Nazi occupier requisitioned the rue Royale headquarters. Keystone Paris was the first photographic agency to equip itself with bélinos for remote image transmission. At the Liberation, the agency returned to its Parisian premises. Its archives were miraculously spared. It was at this time that Keystone-Paris became totally independent from the British parent company. The agency had offices in Paris, Berlin, Brussels, Milan, Vienna, Madrid, Munich, Rome, Budapest, Barcelona, Stockholm, and São Paulo. In the mid-1980s, Keystone ceased its press agency activities to devote itself to exploiting its documentary collection, which 'contains more than 10 million documents: daily life, people, political life, the great events of world history, science and technology, great discoveries, sports, artistic life, royal families, and the unusual.' In 1984, upon the death of Alexandre Garaï, the Keystone Paris agency briefly came under the control of Agence France-Presse, then was sold to Éric Baschet, owner of the L'Illustration collection, who ceded it to Hachette Filipacchi Médias (Groupe Lagardère). The Keystone France iconographic collection, rich with twelve million images, is distributed in 2021 by Gamma-Rapho and Getty Images. A monograph, 'Keystone, 60 ans de grands reportages', with texts by Marc Dolisi and a preface by Lucien Bodard, was published by Éditions Filipacchi in 1987.

• 2021

  Keystone France collection distributed by Gamma-Rapho and Getty Images.

• 1987

  Monograph 'Keystone, 60 ans de grands reportages' published by Éditions Filipacchi.

• 1984

  Death of Alexandre Garaï; agency briefly controlled by Agence France-Presse, then sold to Éric Baschet.

• 1944

  At the Liberation, agency returns to Paris and becomes fully independent from British parent.

• 1940

  Agency flees Paris, settles in Vichy; headquarters requisitioned by Nazi occupier.

• 1930

  Agency moves to 25, rue Royale, Paris 8e.

• 1927

  Keystone Paris founded by Alexandre Garaï as a subsidiary of Keystone-London.

• 1924

  Keystone opens a bureau in Berlin.

• 1918

  Bert Garaï returns to Europe and establishes the first Keystone subsidiary in London.

• 1917

  Keystone View Company founded in the United States by Lloyd Singley and Bert Garaï.

Historical French photo agency and archive, now a heritage image collection distributed by Gamma-Rapho and Getty Images.

• Keystone France iconographic collection

  A collection of twelve million images covering daily life, politics, world history, science, sports, arts, and more.

1. 1Keystone Paris - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Keystone Paris - Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org