Author Archives: Parisian Fields

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About Parisian Fields

Parisian Fields is the blog of two Toronto writers who love Paris. When we can't be there, we can write about it. We're interested in everything from its history and architecture to its graffiti and street furniture. We welcome comments, suggestions, corrections, and musings from all readers.

Stepping back into the river

Hello again. Rebonjour. Our sabbatical from blogging lasted a year. We are uncertain about how and how often we will continue, but we did want to say hello to our readers (if you are still there) and post an update. … Continue reading →

Posted in History of the blind, Paris civic functions, Paris streets, Paris travel | Tagged , , , , | 18 Comments

A web of friends and a ceremony in a former corset factory

For many, Paris is the City of Light, grand museums, or extravagant shopping forays. For us, it is the City of Surprises, and now, a city of friends. Several years ago, when we started research on the history of communications … Continue reading →

Posted in History of the blind, Paris architecture | Tagged , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Les petits bleus

Elderly guidebooks let you visit Paris in the past. We have three. Two date from 1927 – Muirhead’s Paris and its Environs (Blue Guides), and the Express Guide to Paris and Environs (Publications Anglo-Américaines) – and one from 1950: Nagel’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris civic functions, Paris history, Paris maps | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

The postcard collector

To her employers and patients, she was known as Nurse Pirie. But to Norman, she was simply Grandma Stevens. She lived with Grandpa Stevens in a house that his Grandpa had built, near enough to Norman’s family home in Hamilton, … Continue reading →

Posted in Family history, Paris postcards | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

A question of time

What do you remember most vividly about your first visit to Paris? For me, more than 20 years ago, it was the astounding range of merchandise in shops and galleries, the parks, and the cleanliness of the city. For a … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris civic functions, Paris history, Paris hotels, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Nostalgic images of a vanishing city

Photographs of Paris in the snow were big news earlier this month. We are Canadians. As Gilles Vigneault sang of this country, “Mon pays ce n’est pas un pays, c’est l’hiver” (My country is not a country, it is winter). … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris art, Paris nostalgia, Paris popular culture, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

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 , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 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 →

Posted in Paris art, Paris film | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

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 →

Posted in Family history, World War I | Tagged , , , , , , | 13 Comments