François Kollar was born in Hungary in 1904 and settled in Paris in 1924. A passionate amateur photographer in his youth, he apprenticed at the Draeger Brothers printing house, then at the Chevojon studio and the Lecram agency. He founded his own studio in 1930. In 1931, he started a collaboration with publishing house "Horizons de France" for a series of photographic reports about the French working world, published under the title "La France travaille". This extensive study - over 2,000 photographs - was produced over 4 years and took François Kollar all around the country, where he documented each sector of French industry and agriculture. From 1932, "La France travaille" was published in instalments and was met with public and critical acclaim which helped launch the young photographer's career. His eclectic production - advertizing and fashion photography as well as industrial reports, or photo murals for the Paris 1937 World Fair pavilions - was widely exhibited and published in magazines such as "Le Figaro illustré", "Plaisirs de France", "Vu" and "Harper's Bazar" and in numerous professional publications, until the mid 1960's. He died in Créteil in 1979. In 1975, the Horizons de France publishing house donated the photographer's production for "La France Travaille" to the City of Paris' principal graphic arts library, Bibliothèque Forney.
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Miners. François Kollar working as a miner. Mining company: Société houillère de Sarre et Moselle. Merlebach and Carling (France). Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Miners. Hammer drill extraction. Mining company : Société houillère de Sarre et Moselle. Merlebach and Carling (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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"La France travaille". Photographie positive noir et blanc de François Kollar (1904-1979), 1931-1934. Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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"La France travaille". Wireless. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979), published in "Journaux et labos", 1931-1934. Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Miners. A miner taking his lamp. Mining company: Compagnie des Houillères de Montrambert et de la Béraudière. Saint-Etienne (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Miners playing the accordion. Sin-le-Noble (France). 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Wine growers. Bottling at the Maison Bouchard. Paris wine market (Vth arrondissement), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Sources of energy. Alsthom company : Frame of the motor of a rolling machine. Belfort (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Rail transport. Repairing of a boiler. Chemins de fer de l'Etat (State Railway). Sotteville-lès-Rouen (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Automobiles. Workers putting a bodywork on a chassis at the Citroën car factory. Clichy (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Bargees, ferrymen. Bargees' bar. Unlocated, 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Newspapers. Libraries. Biological study. Sources of invention. Microscope examination of a preparation. Paris, Etablissements Nachet, 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Rail transport. Replacement of tracks. Chemins de fer de l'Etat (State Railway). Brou (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Lighthouses. Lighthouse keepers. Antifer (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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In the port, aboard. The "Champlain" liner : painting of the hull. Penhoët (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Automobiles. Stub axle and steam hammer with oil-jet Citroën car factory. Clichy (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Building industry. Slate roofing. Paris. Ch. Lavillauguet company. 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Country life. Tractor and harvester. Beauce region (France), 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Sources of energy. Neon signs. Paris. 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Rail transport. "Pacific" engine being cleaned. Eauplet viaduct (France), 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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In the port, aboard. Coal-trimmer. Bordeaux (France), 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Markets. Stockings and socks stallholder. Amboise (France). 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Building industry. Reinforced concrete : assembly of a "sapine" crane. Saint-Denis (France). Sainrapt et Brice company. 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Foresters and woodcutters. The falling axe. Forest in Tronçais (France). 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Wine growers. Barrel market. Bourgogne region. Beaune (France), 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Wine growers. Grape-pickers carrying wicker baskets, in the Bourgogne region. Morey-Saint-Denis (France), 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Country life. Farmer carrying hay on his back. Ariège region (France), 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Miners. Miner kissing his child. Waziers (France). Compagnie des mines d'Aniche. 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Iron industry. Bolting of a motor cylinder. Mulhouse (France). Société alsacienne de construction mécanique. 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Rail transport. Apprentice at work. Chemins de fer de l'Etat (State Railway). La Garenne-Colombes (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Iron industry. Casters in pipes. Company: Société des Hauts Fourneaux et Fonderies de Pont-à-Mousson (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Weavers and mill owners. Silk workers. Tapestries. Worker at the pasting machine. Bohain-en-Vermondois. Etablissements Rodier (France), 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Weavers and mill owners. Silk workers. Tapestries. Drawing school. Manufacture nationale de tapisseries de Beauvais (France), 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Weavers and mill owners. Woman with her spinning wheel. Bohain-en-Vermondois (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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In the port, aboard. "Champlain" liner : deck scraping. Société des chantiers et ateliers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët. Saint-Nazaire (France), 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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In the port, aboard. "Super Ile-de-France" liner : shearing off with an oxhydrogen torch. Société des chantiers et ateliers de Saint-Nazaire Penhoët. Saint-Nazaire (France), 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Miners. Schoolchildren medical examination. Lorraine (France), 1931-1934. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Markets. Sales agent's post. Paris, the Halles (Ist arrondissement). 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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Fishermen. First mate at the helm. Saint-Malo (France), 1931. Photograph by François Kollar (1904-1979). Paris, Bibliothèque Forney.
François Kollar / Bibliothèque Forney / Roger-Viollet
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