The Coup d'Etat of 1946 (also known as the 1946 Revolution) consists of snapshots taken by photographer Byron Coroneos in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, documenting the coup over a six day period (January 7- January 12) and assembled chronologically in an album. Images depict views of buildings exteriors and/or crowds; and group portraits and candid shots of government officials taken inside the Garde d'Haiti headquarters. In addition to providing descriptive information below the photos, Coroneos created a timeline of the revolution by labeling the date as well as the time of day he took most photos.
Photos chronicle a student strike to overthrow President Elie Lescot with images of the exterior of the College de Port-du-Prince; striking students in front of a police station protesting the arrest of a fellow student, and in front of the Institution St. Louis de Gonzague. The strikers are depicted heading towards and in front of an unidentified seminary. Other photos depict citizens descending on the Garde d'Haiti headquarters, including school teachers and a woman identified as Madame Garoute. Views of the headquarters include crowds, military personnel, and freed students. Other views show crowds and members of the Committee on Public Security waiting for of one of the new leaders, Colonel Franck Lavaud, who is seen arriving at the headquarters. Also included is a group portrait taken inside the headquarters, depicting Lavaud and the other two members of the new junta, known as the Military Executive Committee (Comité Exécutif Militaire), Major Antoine Levelt and Major Paul E. Magloire. They are also seen in candid shots with their staff as well as meeting with members of the Committee of Public Security. Other meetings that took place inside the headquarters are documented and identified participants are Major Levelt, Timoléon Brutus, Charles Fombrun, Dr. Marcel Hérard, Dr. Georges Rigaud, Jules Blanchet, René T. Auguste, Captain Kerby, and Major Romain. Philip Clark of the Associated Press is shown interviewing the junta. Other street scenes show more crowds and the aftermath of pillaging done to stores and a factory owned by an American businessman, which the crowd thought was operated by President Lescot. The last pages of the album depict the vandalized country home of Gontran Rouzier, former under-secretary of state for the Interior (n.d.).
There are no close-up shots of Lavaud, Levelt or Magloire.
