Thanks to Olivier, Thierry and Jean-Luc for their help in writing this note.

J. Chinh, an amateur photographer, lived in Quang Yen. As a professional interpreter, he had privileged access to barracks, military training grounds and all sites frequented by soldiers. To make ends meet, he reproduced his photographs on photographic paper and sold them to the soldiers he met on a daily basis, eager to send souvenirs to their families.
At the heart of military life and daily action, his innovative photos were not only beautiful, but also very popular. Their success, however, was not unanimous, especially among professional photographers, who were also seeking to make a living from their art.
J. Chinh also sent his cards to correspondents in France, and we learned that he regularly complained about the theft of his photographs.
Victims of theft and looting, his photos disappeared from the postcard stalls sold to the military.

J. Chinh’s postcard production disappeared around 1910. Some claim that J. Chinh was sent to work as an interpreter in an Indochinese trading post in China, others that he died of cholera in Haiphong, while still others maintain that, for a fee, he agreed to give up his passion.
Cartacaro doesn’t know, but if you have any information, please send it to Cartacaro.
One thing’s for sure: he produces around a hundred postcards, or even two hundred. They’re all photo cards. The caption is sometimes embellished with a variable number, e.g. 33 bis, 33 ter for the same view. They are all printed on Lumière paper, except for the last ones from 1909 on Bonal paper.

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They were reproduced by the publishers Fauvel, Dieulefils and at least three others, but without names indicated, and even a publisher from Marseilles...
Cartacaro is continuing his research and will give you more information in 2025.
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To illustrate this point, here is the Justice series entitled La Cadouille. We’re not sure of the exact order of the cards, J. Chinh doesn’t have the same order as Dieulefils, who himself doesn’t have the same chronological order as Fauvel.

Dieulefils 3130 - Prisonnier à genoux - La Cadouille

Inconnu 180 - Prisonnier recevant la cadouille - La Cadouille

Fauvel 78 - Justice indigène - La Cadouille

Chinh 130 - Fin de l’instruction - La Cadouille

Chinh 133 - Reconnu coupable - La Cadouille

Signature publisher unknown

Signature publisher Fauvel
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Another publisher illustrated this scene, Victor Planté, but with other cards that also have a different story.

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As for photo theft, Cartacaro attended a lecture at the Musée du Louvre on photography, where the speaker explained and demonstrated that during the 1920s, theft between photographers was commonplace. “We stole, we pillaged,” she said.”
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