-
Most viewed posts & pages
What our readers think
Jan Whitaker on Avoiding the crowds in Ve… daysontheclaise on Avoiding the crowds in Ve… daysontheclaise on Avoiding the crowds in Ve… pedmar10 on Avoiding the crowds in Ve… Bernard KIRCHHOFF on Avoiding the crowds in Ve… Most liked posts & pages
Author Archives: Parisian Fields
Update to A City Street, A Lamppost
I finally heard back from the Roger-Viollet agency with the name of the photographer: Roger Berson. I was not able to find out much about him, but stay tuned. His name led me to the original shot, taken in August … Continue reading
Posted in Uncategorized
18 Comments
A city street, a lamppost
It was the photograph that caught my eye from a high shelf in a bookshop. A street with a lamppost and the corner of a building; two men walking in opposite directions. It was only later that I registered the … Continue reading
Posted in Paris books, Paris civic functions, Paris postcards, Paris streets
Tagged du Gaz et de l’Eclairage, Dufayel, Frédérique Bousquel, Jacques Lusseyran, Jo Baker, Joseph Epstein, Journées du Patrimoine, Marcel Epstein, Mémoire de l’Electricité, Mémoire des rues, MEGE, Ronald C. Rosbottom, rue de Clignancourt, rue Ramey, Second World War
21 Comments
Starry starry night
I am writing this on Sunday, December 24, and all I can think about is Vincent Van Gogh. Until recently, I had not realized that he’d cut off his ear on December 23 (which in 1888 was also a Sunday), … Continue reading
The Auld Alliance
On November 8, 2015, I posted a blog about my great-uncles who died in the First World War: Raymond Hummel, who died in 1916 and is buried in France (shown on the left, below); and John Lonsdale Sieber, known as … Continue reading
The Rise and Fall of the Visual Telegraph
Sometimes we go looking for blog ideas, and sometimes they come along and tap us persistently on the shoulder. This one did – three times. First, I spotted an “advertorial” in a 1912 issue of a small American magazine called … Continue reading
Posted in Paris history
Tagged Abraham Chappe, Abraham-Louis Bréguet, Belleville, Claude Chappe, Ecouen, François Blanc, Louis Blanc, Napoleon Bonaparte, Père Lachaise, Réné Chappe, rue Chappe, rue de l’Université, Saint-Martin-du-Tertre, semaphore, St-Pierre de Montmartre, St-Sulpice, telegraph, Tom Standage
14 Comments
Gustave Eiffel did not sleep here
On a recent visit to Laywine’s, our favourite pen and stationery store in Toronto, Philippa picked up a desk pad made by the French paper firm Exacompta, and found the following note on the front: Made in the heart of … Continue reading
Posted in Paris architecture, Paris history, World War I
Tagged Clairefontaine, Compagnie Parisienne d’air comprimé, Compagnie Parisienne de Distribution d’Électricité, Denis Cosnard, Exacompta, G. Lalo, Labor, Mignon, Paul Friésé, Quai de Jemmapes, Rhodia, Saderne, Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques
9 Comments
Exploring an imaginary Paris suburb
Rereading a well-loved children’s book can be risky. Some hold up well – my adult niece is currently enjoying Anne of Green Gables all over again. Others, well, you need to be a child to appreciate them properly. So I … Continue reading
