In the 1910-1920’s, an architectural and urban survey, the « Casier archéologique et artistique », was constituted for Paris and the communes of the former Seine’s department. Early reflections are at the origin of this survey : it had been thought, half a century before the adoption of the Malraux law for “safeguarded areas” (secteurs sauvegardés), to proceed with what would eventually be called “heritage urbanism”, with the prospect of the ‘Grand Paris’ then in preparation. The aim of this presentation is to reveal the actors, the issues and the evolutions of the pionneer survey, as well as its uses.