Many of you who’ve read some of my reviews before know that I take a dim view of photo books of Paris that depict lifeless images of the City of Light. By that I mean photographs of Paris utterly devoid of that which makes the city so memorable, so full of charm and beauty and style, i.e., its people. I have this one 1970′s-era photo book that I picked up at a yard sale a few years ago with the usual collection of flat landscapes: the Eiffel Tower, the Seine, the Champs Elysees, etc. Yawn. Given the two-dimensional nature of photography, it takes a very, very visionary and talented artist to capture a city’s many moods and energy on film without populating it with flesh-and-blood residents. After all, a city’s character comes from its, well, characters, non?
San Francisco-based Rebecca Schall wisely avoided that pitfall in gathering together a remarkable collection of black-and-white photographs in this book, aptly named Historic Photos of Paris. Organized chronologically, the images capture a city evolving from a time of uncertainty and devastation following the Commune in the mid-19th century to its modern incarnation as the world capital of art, literature and spirit. Accompanying text is minimal, allowing for full exposure of these arresting photographs, some of which take up entire pages. Schall — a historian by education and trade — provides the reader with tantalizing introductions to the era depicted in each chapter (e.g., “La Belle Epoque-The Beautiful Age: 1891-1914,” “The War Years-Occupation and Liberation: 1940-1945,” etc.) before launching you into a mesmerizing series of well-chosen photographs that highlight the milestones of that particular period.
Schall culled these images from the archives at the Library of Congress as well as l’Agence de Roger-Viollet, one of the largest photography agencies in the world and which houses the most extensive collections of photographs of Paris. (Indeed, a quick click on the link to their site above will reveal a photograph familiar to anyone who’s read Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky.) Schall obviously had a tremendous job ahead of her, as she pored through thousands of iconic images of Paris in order to distill the spirit of the city into this 205-page volume. Still, she accomplished that feat admirably, as even a quick browse through the book’s thick, glossy pages is enough to appreciate the depth and breadth of its content. The images are positively mesmerizing, the detail of a city’s past, present and hopes for the future found in the shadows, the line of sight, the distant, blurry figures scurrying across a square or the clear-eyed gaze of an unsurprised subject.
This is the photo book of Paris I’ve been longing for. Paris is nothing if not a city both blessed and burdened by its rich history, its architecture, landscape, infrastructure, even its sky marked forever by the people who’ve marched through its hallowed streets and carved its destiny in the stone and steel. You won’t see postcard-worthy images of the Eiffel Tower here — nothing that could inspire anyone to deface an image with a hasty “Wish you were here!” scrawl. Instead, each photograph begs to be really looked at, not merely admired. Each will demand your attention, inviting you to discover a different side of Paris, away from the flaky croissants and beret-clad stereotypes.
Perhaps one of the best things about the book is the skill with which Schall wrote the captions to every image. She doesn’t take the lazy way out by pointing out the obvious, i.e., “Notre Dame from the rear.” Duh. Rather, she expands on the history behind that moment in time during which the photo was taken and gives context to the image at hand, all without overwhelming the reader with too much detail.
My favorite photographs, of course, are those that depict events more familiar to me, a reader well into the 21st century. The images of a liberated Paris are heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time, the relief and unabashed joy on Parisian faces at the sight of their American saviors so moving in their depth of emotion. Fans of French Chic will appreciate the photo of a stylish French woman astride a bicycle and towing a velo-taxi, a passenger cart attached to the rear of the bike. In another brilliant photograph, a lone American soldier — his back to the camera, his hands clasped behind him solemnly — takes in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles shortly after the liberation. These are the moments that make history, and we’re privileged to be able to view them again and again, long after the actual date has passed.
Highly, highly recommended.
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Yet one more book we don’t have that I’m going to have to interlibrary loan. This looks phenomenal. I’m with you – I have nothing against ‘postcard’ type shots, and certainly not shots of art and architecture, but it’s the mix of those things with the people, with light and shadow, digging beneath the expected veneer of such a famous place, lifting the veil, as it were.
I love the old-postcard style photos. I have bought some of Rodez — it’s so interesting to see what the places I frequent looked like in the pre-automobile era.
Dear Betty, these are indeed very stunning photographs. I’ve always loved historical photos of interesting cities. One of these days I want to compile a collection of old photos of Manila in the pre- and immediate post-war period, back before industrial pollutants blanketed the atmosphere.
Salut,
Marjorie
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