Category Archives: Paris cemeteries

How blind people learned to write: the truth can be told

Posted on June 20, 2021 by Parisian Fields

Exactly 200 years ago, in June 1821, a crucial experiment was taking place in a school on the rue St-Victor in Paris. The school was the Institution Royale des Jeunes Aveugles (the Royal Institution for Blind Youth) and the students … Continue reading →

Posted in Charles Barbier, History of the blind, Paris cemeteries, Paris history, Paris museums | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

A city built on air

Posted on September 13, 2015 by Parisian Fields

A few years ago, we found this postcard in a street market, showing a sinkhole in the Place Saint-Augustin. What on earth (or under the earth) had happened during the storm of June 15, 1914? We found one account in … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris cemeteries, Paris civic functions, Paris history, Paris maps, Paris streets | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

An artist finds life among the tombs

Posted on November 10, 2013 by Parisian Fields

When I look at Pamela Williams’s photographs of sculptures, I feel I am seeing real people. This photo, which she calls “Glance,” was taken in 2010 in Passy Cemetery. It is so realistic, one almost does a double-take. The once-lustrous … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris art, Paris cemeteries | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Stained Glass Less Seen

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Parisian Fields

Paris’s many churches are treasure troves of spectacular, often monumental, stained glass windows. The cemeteries of Paris have stained glass windows too, but these are small, less visible, and easily overlooked except by those who walk slowly and peer through … Continue reading →

Posted in Paris cemeteries | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments