3364-3371 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Musée de la Poupée in Paris

3364 Two Bleuette dolls (left - 1920s, right - 1930)

The Musée de la Poupée was a private doll museum located in Paris, in a quiet alley in the very crowded Marais district, between the Pompidou Center and the Museum of Jewish Art and History, established in 1994 and closed in September 2017. It contained a permanent collection of more than 500 French dolls (toys, automatons, miniature mannequins, divination dolls and witchcraft figurines), an army of strange beauty that unveils mankind's universal fascination for self representation.

3365 Two Bleuette dolls (left - 1934-1940, right - 1928)

Made out of cloth, rubber, celluloid, wax, bisque, porcelain, plastic and even human hair, their bodies and their shapes defined an ideal of feminity that fluctuated through the canon of beauty of their era. Sometimes showcased in dioramas that mimic hausmanian cabinets, tea parties or kitchy seashores, the dolls reenact the illusion of life in the most bizarre of ways, stuck in timeless girly stereotypes. One room focused on doll-making and the materials used in dolls. The museum also presented temporary exhibits and lectures.

3366 A Bleuette doll (1941-1946)

Under the Second Empire, the doll has first represented the lady morphology. These rich and refined lady-dolls are particularly remarquable for their trousseau and accessories reflecting the fashion of their time. First made of wood and composition, they had a bisque (mat porcelain) head and a leather or wood body. In 1878 a new type of dolls appeared at the universal exhibition of Paris: the bisque headed "bebe" that represented from then on the child from 3 to 12 years old.

3367 Three Bleuette dolls (1946)

The "bebe's" birth is related to the incredible international development of French doll and toy industry. In 1899 the most important French doll makers associated through the SFBJ - Société Française de fabrication de bébés et jouets - in order to fight against the foreign competition and mainly the German one. The SFBJ production is outstanding for the exceptional series of "character bebes" with expressive faces and child or even baby bodies.

3368 Baby doll (1930s)

During the roaring twenties, new materials have been used in the doll industry : celluloïd, composition, papier-mâché, cloth, felt... Simoultaneously a new morphological type of doll raised on the market : the soft body baby representing the new born with a bald big head with side glancing eyes looking very realistic. Chidren's magazines also promoted dolls given as a gift such as Bleuette of La Semaine de Suzette which is probably the most famous with her rich trousseau that could be bought already made or could be sewn by little girls from the patterns published in the magazine.

3369 A Bleuette doll

During the second part of the 20th century, new plastic materials appeared in the doll industry and all the other ones were abandoned. On the other hand, the variety of the dolls of that era is amazing : classic dolls, baby dolls, brand new fashion dolls, soft body babies, caricature or funny dolls. The main firms still using celluloïd or rhodoïd at that time are Raynal, Petitcollin, Nobel, Convert, Urika, Marechal. The ones imposing with new plastic materials are Bella, Gégé, Clodrey and later Corolle. In 1951 the lady magazine Modes & Travaux sold its own dolls for which patterns were published monthly in order to dress them.

3370 A Bleuette doll (1927-1933)

Created by two passionate collectors, Guido and Samy Odin, father and son, the establishment has never benefited from any state subsidy or private aid, and closed its doors due to financial difficulties. After the closure of the museum, Samy Odin found new operating solutions in the same field. He continued to activated as specialist in ancient dolls, antiquarian dealer, author and speaker, as well as organizer of occasional exhibitions and events related to his specialties, under a new structure named Cherubim, which popularize the culture in the various representations of childhood, from yesterday to today.

3371 A Bleuette doll (1930)

From the installation of exhibitions all over the world to the purchase and sale of dolls and any other collectible object with a childlike image, from the organization of conferences, seminars and workshops to the proposal of trips and stays study for an informed public. But also the expertise of dolls, toys, old papers and specialized books, the publishing of reference books and articles, the writing of sales catalogs, up to coaching for collectors.

2899, 2900 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Bouquinistes on the banks of the Seine - part of Paris, Banks of the Seine (UNESCO WHS)

2899 Bouquinistes on the banks of the Seine,
with Notre Dame de Paris in background

The Bouquinistes of Paris are booksellers of used and antiquarian books who ply their trade along large sections of the banks of the Seine: on the right bank from the Pont Marie to the Quai du Louvre, and on the left bank from the Quai de la Tournelle to Quai Voltaire. The Seine is thus described as "the only river in the world that runs between two bookshelves". This tradition began around the 16th century with little market peddlers. Under pressure from booksellers, a settlement of 1649 prohibited stalls and the display of books on the Pont Neuf.

2900 Bouquinistes on Tournelle Quai,
with Notre Dame de Paris in background

 

The traditional emblem of the second-hand booksellers is "a lizard looking at a sword" In 1859, concessions were implemented by the city of Paris and the bouquinistes are permitted to be established at fixed points. The openings are from sunrise to sunset. Finally, in 1930 the dimensions of the boxes were fixed. Installed along more than three kilometres of the Seine, the 240 bouquinistes make use of 900 green boxes to house some 300,000 old books and a very great number of journals, stamps and trading cards.

2870 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Pringy, Seine-et-Marne

Pringy is a small town in the northern-center of France, located not far from Paris, between the forest of Fontainebleau and the Seine. The altitude of the town is approximately 60 meters. In the picture is a village shop from the mid-20th century, serving as grocery and haberdashery, but where also could be find coffee and tobacco.

0368, 2788 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile in Paris

0368 Paris - Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (1)

Posted on 24.10.2012, 01.10.2016
Located in Paris, in the centre of the Place Charles de Gaulle (originally named Place de l'Étoile - designed by Marquis de Marigny at the intersection of twelve avenues), at the western end of the Champs-Élysées, the Arc de Triomphe (Triumphal Arch) is the linchpin of the Axe historique (Historic Axis), a sequence of monuments on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre, to the Grande Arche de la Défense. It was the largest triumphal arch in existence until the construction of the Arch of Triumph in Pyongyang, in 1982, having 50m in height, 45m wide and 22m deep.

2788 Paris - Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (2)

It was commissioned in 1806 (after the victory at Austerlitz) by Emperor Napoleon, but it was completed only during the reign of King Louis-Philippe, in 1836. The first architect, Jean Chalgrin, died in 1811, and the work was taken over by Jean-Nicolas Huyot, then by Héricart de Thury. It became the rallying point of French troops parading after successful military campaigns and for the annual Bastille Day Military Parade. Famous victory marches around or under the Arc have included the Germans in 1871, the French in 1919, the Germans in 1940, and the French and Allies in 1944 and 1945. Beneath the Arc is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier from WW.

1269, 2750 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Basilica of Sacré-Cœur in Paris

1269 The Basilica of Sacré-Cœur

Posted on 05.10.2014, 13.09.2016
Located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in  Paris, The Basilica of Sacré-Cœur is a double monument, political and cultural, both a national penance for the defeat of France in the Franco-Prussian War and the socialist Paris Commune of 1871, and an embodiment of conservative moral order, publicly dedicated to the  Sacred Heart of Jesus, which was an increasingly popular vision of a loving and sympathetic Christ. Architect Paul Abadie designed the basilica after winning a competition over 77 other architects, and the foundation stone was finally laid 16 June 1875.

2750 The Basilica of Sacré-Cœur and the Place du Tertre

The overall style of the structure shows a free interpretation of Romano-Byzantine features, an unusual architectural vocabulary at the time. Many design elements of the basilica symbolise nationalist themes: the portico, with its three arches, is adorned by two equestrian statues of French national saints Joan of Arc (1927) and King Saint Louis IX, both executed in bronze by Hippolyte Lefebvre; and the nineteen-ton Savoyarde bell (one of the world's heaviest), cast in 1895 in Annecy, alludes to the annexation of Savoy in 1860.

2646 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - The Comics & Science-Fiction Convention In Paris

Between 15 and 17 April 2016, occurred in Parc Floral de Paris, located within the Bois de Vincennes in the 12th arrondissement of Paris, The Comics & Science-Fiction Convention. Among the 11 illustrators invited to the event was the South Korean Kim Jung Gi. The need to draw "fast and efficient" became his particular style, which allows him to work without any preparation. He is famous for its "Drawing Shows", being internationally acclaimed as a genius of the drawing.

2542 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Palais Garnier in Paris

2542 The façade of the Palais Garnier opera house in Paris

"Probably the most famous opera house in the world, a symbol of Paris like Notre Dame Cathedral, the Louvre, or the Sacré Coeur Basilica", the Palais Garnier, built from 1861 to 1875, was the most expensive building constructed in Paris during the Second Empire. Originally called the Salle des Capucines, because of its location on the Boulevard des Capucines in the 9th arrondissement, became known as the Palais Garnier, in recognition of its opulence and its architect, Charles Garnier.

2525, 2526 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Moulin Rouge in Paris

2525 Paris - Moulin Rouge

Located close to Montmartre in the Paris district of Pigalle on Boulevard de Clichy in the 18th arrondissement, the Moulin Rouge (Red Mill) is a famous cabaret, best known as the spiritual birthplace of the modern form of the can-can dance, became French Can-Can, after crossing the English Channel. It is marked by the red windmill on its roof, and the club's decor still contains much of the romance of fin de siècle France. Today, it is a tourist attraction, offering musical dance entertainment for visitors from around the world.

2526 Lithograph "Bal au Moulin Rouge",
by Jules Cheret
(1889 / Impremiere Chaix / Atelier Chéret)

The Moulin Rouge was opened on 6 October 1889, in full Belle Époque (Beautiful Era), in the Jardin de Paris, at the foot of the Montmartre hill, and quickly became a great success. Its creator Joseph Oller and his Manager Charles Zidler were formidable businessmen who understood the public's tastes. The aim of the cabaret was to allow the very rich to come and "slum it" in a fashionable district, Montmartre, which, at the heart of an increasingly vast and impersonal Paris, managed to retain a bucolic village atmosphere; festivities and artists mixed, with pleasure and beauty as their values.

2516, 2517 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Louvre Museum - part of Paris, Banks of the Seine (UNESCO WHS)

2516 Louvre Museum in Paris

The Louvre Museum is one of the world's largest museums and a historic monument located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement (ward). The Louvre Palace, which houses the museum, was begun as a fortress by  Philip II in the 12th century, with remnants of this building still visible in the crypt. It was altered frequently throughout the Middle Ages. In the 14th century, Charles V converted the building into a residence and in 1546, Francis I renovated the site in French Renaissance style.

2517 Leonardo da Vinci - Mona Lisa

Francis acquired what would become the nucleus of the Louvre's holdings, his acquisitions including Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa, in modern epoca acclaimed as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, the most sung about, the most parodied work of art in the world." After Louis XIV chose Versailles as his residence in 1682, constructions slowed; however, the move permitted the Louvre to be used as a residence for artists.

2491 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Conciergerie and Pont au Change - part of Paris, Banks of the Seine (UNESCO WHS)

The Conciergerie is a former prison, located on the west of the Île de la Cité (Island of the City) presently mostly used for law courts. It was part of the Palais de la Cité, originally the site of a Merovingian palace, which was the seat of the Kings of France from the 10th to the 14th centuries. Charles V abandoned the palace in 1358, moving across the river to the Louvre. The palace continued to serve an administrative function and still included the chancellery and French Parliament.

FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Paris, Banks of the Seine (UNESCO WHS)

Founded in the 3rd century BC by a Celtic people called the Parisii, who gave the city its name, Paris was by the 12th century the largest city in the western world, a prosperous trading centre, and the home of the University of Paris, one of the first in Europe. In the 18th century, it was the centre stage for the French Revolution, and became an important centre of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, a position it still retains today. Since the 19th century, the built-up area of Paris has grown far beyond its administrative borders.

2069 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Millet at Barbizon

2069 Millet at Barbizon: 1. The field and the village of Chailly-en-Bière
which served as decor for "The Gleaners" and "The Angelus";
2. "The Angelus"; 3. Millet; 4. "The Gleaners"; 5. The dining
room of Millet; 6. Millet's home.

The Barbizon school was part of an art movement towards Realism in painting, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time, on the middle of the 19th century, roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name from the village of Barbizon, near the Forest of Fontainebleau, where many of the artists gathered. Some of the most prominent features of this school are its tonal qualities, color, loose brushwork, and softness of form.

0383, 0605, 2043 FRANCE (Île-de-France) - Notre Dame de Paris - part of Paris, Banks of the Seine (UNESCO WHS)

0383 Notre Dame de Paris - Cathedral's Western Facade

Posted on 14.11.2012, 18.04.2013, 17.11.2015
"That most terrible church of the most glorious Virgin Mary, mother of God, deservedly shines out, like the sun among stars", wrote Jean de Jandun in 1323 in his Treatise on the Praises of Paris, about the Cathedral Notre Dame de Paris (Our Lady of Paris), located on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité. It is one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture, even if it suffered significant damages during the riots Huguenots in the 16th century, during the French Revolution, and during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV, when they tried to modernize the cathedral. Neither the WWII didn't spare it.

0605 Notre Dame de Paris - Quai Montebello and the Cathedral

Tradition has it that Notre-Dame’s first stone was laid in 1163 in the presence of Pope Alexander III, the initiative of building the cathedral belonging to Maurice de Sully, the bishop of Paris, who wanted to provide a response to the unprecedented development that the city knew at the time. Construction was completed in 1345, with the contribution of many architects, and in the next centuries held periodicaly refurbishments. The cathedral treasury is notable for its reliquary, which houses the purported crown of thorns, a fragment of the True Cross upon which Jesus was crucified, and one of the Holy Nails - all instruments of the Passion.

2043 Notre Dame de Paris - The Cathedral viewed from
Pont de l'Archevêché, covered with 'love padlocks'

In the postcard 0383 can be seen the Western Facade of Notre-Dame, "an imposing, simple and harmonious mass whose strength and sombre grandeur is based on interplay between vertical and horizontal lines: four powerful buttresses that spring up to the top of the towers, lifting them heavenwards. They symbolically let us know that this cathedral-church was built for God. Two wide horizontal strips seem to bring the building back down to our mortal earth." Its construction started in 1200, the North Tower being completed in 1240 and the South tower in 1250.