Maurice-Louis Branger who was born in Fontainebleau in 1874 began to work as a photographer beginning in 1895. Around 1905 he created the photo reportage agency "Photopresse" at 5 rue Cambon in Paris. He was a versatile and very active photographer, covering the main events of Paris life, in particular the flood of 1910, but also criminal affairs and trials, the cultural and political life and sporting events. A truly international reporter, he was one of the rare photographers to go into the field during the First Balkan War in 1913. Upon his return to France, he photographed World War I and its consequences for four years. Once a civilian and Parisian again, he became known particularly for his local reportages of daily life of the roaring twenties in a rapidly changing city. He died in 1950 in Mantes la Jolie. In 1961, Roger-Viollet acquired 31,000 negatives of his photographs produced between 1900 and 1927, as well as many vintage prints.
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