The Rapho agency was founded in Paris in 1933 by Charles Rado (1899–1970), a Hungarian immigrant. Rapho, an acronym formed from Rado-Photo, is one of the oldest press agencies specializing in

humanist photography Humanist Photography, also known as the School of Humanist Photography,Chalifour, Bruno, 'Jean Dieuzaide, 1935-2003' in ''Afterimage'' Vol. 31, No. 4, January–February 2004 manifests the Enlightenment philosophical system in social documentary pra ...

.Michèle and Michel Auer, ''Photographers Encyclopedia International, 1839 to the present'' (Editions Camera Obscura, Switzerland, 1985), p.789. Rapho initially represented the small group of Hungarian friends and refugee photographers

Brassaï Brassaï (; pseudonym of Gyula Halász; 9 September 1899 – 8 July 1984) was a Hungarian–French photographer, sculptor, medalist, writer, and filmmaker who rose to international fame in France in the 20th century. He was one of the numerous ...

Nora Dumas Nora Dumas (1890, Budapest – 23 May 1979, Genthod, Switzerland) was a Hungarian photographer who worked mainly in Paris in the Humanist genre. Biography Nora Dumas was born Kelenföldi Telkes Nóra, in 1890, in Budapest, which she left for Pari ...

Ergy Landau Ergy or Erzsy Landau (1896–1967) was a Hungarian-French humanist photographer. Born in Budapest, Landau worked in Franz Xaver Setzer's Vienna studio and then in Rudolf Dührkoop's studio in Berlin. She had photographed the German writer Thom ...

and Ylla.Robin Lenman, "Rapho"; in ''The Oxford Companion to the Photograph,'' ed. Robin Lenman (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005; ). Forced to close the agency during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Rado left for the U.S. in 1940. He opened a New York City office at 59 East 54th Street, Rapho Guillumette Pictures, with photographer Paul Guillumette. Rapho was reopened in Paris in 1946 by

Raymond Grosset Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund (disambiguation), Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic langu ...

. Rado and Grosset proceeded to gather a number of photographers whom they represented in varying capacities and sometimes shared: Robert Doisneau, Édouard Boubat,

Denis Brihat Denis may refer to: People * Saint Denis of Paris, 3rd-century Christian martyr and first bishop of Paris * Denis the Areopagite, Biblical figure * Denis, son of Ampud (died 1236), baron in the Kingdom of Hungary * Denis the Carthusian (1402–14 ...

, Jean Dieuzaide,

Bill Brandt Bill Brandt (born Hermann Wilhelm Brandt; 2 May 1904 – 20 December 1983)Paul DelanyBill Brandt: A Life was a British photographer and photojournalist. Born in Germany, Brandt moved to England, where he became known for his images of British ...

, Ken Heyman,

Izis Israëlis Bidermanas (17 January 1911 – 16 May 1980 in Paris), who worked under the name of Izis, was a Lithuanian-Jewish photographer who worked in France and is best known for his photographs of French circuses and of Paris. Biography Born i ...

André Kertész André Kertész (; 2 July 1894 – 28 September 1985), born Andor Kertész, was a Hungarian-born photographer known for his groundbreaking contributions to photographic composition and the photo essay. In the early years of his career, his th ...

Yousuf Karsh Yousuf Karsh, FRPS (December 23, 1908 – July 13, 2002) was a Canadian-Armenian photographer known for his portraits of notable individuals. He has been described as one of the greatest portrait photographers of the 20th century. An Armenian ...

Jacques Henri Lartigue Jacques Henri Lartigue (; 13 June 1894 – 12 September 1986) was a French photographer and painter, known for his photographs of automobile races, planes and female Parisian fashion models. Biography Born in Courbevoie in western Paris to ...

Janine Niépce Janine Niépce (February 12, 1921 – August 5, 2007) was a French photographer and journalist. Her career spanned developing films for the French Resistance to covering the women's liberation movement in the 1970s. Biography Janine Niépce ...

, Willy Ronis,

Emile Savitry Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

Fouad Elkoury Fouad Elkoury ( ar, فؤاد الخوري; born 1952) is a Lebanese photographer and filmmaker. He is known for his photographs of war in Lebanon. Life and work ElKoury was born in Paris, the son of Lebanese architect Pierre el-Khoury. He studi ...

, and Sabine Weiss. In 1975, Rapho Guillumette Pictures was absorbed by Photo Researchers. Two years later, Rapho acquired the TOP agency. In 2000, Rapho joined the Hachette Filipacchi Photos Group, which was sold in 2007 and became the photo conglomerate Eyedea. Eyedea, which went bankrupt in 2010, resurfaced that year as Gamma-Rapho, and includes the image collections of Hoa-Qui, TOP, Explorer, and Jacana.

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* {{authority control Photo agencies Mass media companies established in 1933 1933 establishments in France Companies based in Paris Photography companies of France Mass media in Paris Photography in the United States Mass media in New York City Humanist photographers