1934 Peugeot 601 Eclipse, the First Automatic Retractable Hardtop for an Automobile

Fixed-roof cars of the early 20th century could feel claustrophobic. But convertibles of the time were often leaky, drafty, noisy, and insecure. The advanced solution came from Peugeot in 1934, with the introduction of the retractable hardtop on its luxurious 601. The self-storing roof structure automatically disappeared behind the passenger's compartment into a space revealed by the reverse-opening rear deck in lieu of the trunk.

This Georges Paulin design set the general design standard for retractable hardtops. The technology surfaced in an American production car when Ford introduced the 1957–1959 Skyliner, and all modern variants can trace their roots back to prewar France and have evolved from Peugeot’s idea.

It used an electric to operate the roof mechanism which Peugeot promised would take 15 seconds to erect or lower, but it actually took closer to a minute to fully complete. Furthermore, four such cycles were sufficient to completely drain the car’s battery a situation which meant you had to do it by hand via a manual lever.

In 1935 the 601 was further developed with minor modifications and some new body variants on the C-series of 1934 and these were classified in the series 601D. The long body styles were called 601DL. The D-series are recognizable by the lowered headlights and the elongated handles on the hood instead of the flaps.

A total of 1,235 units were produced of the C variants in 1934 and approximately 779 units of the L. There were 1,074 copies of the D variants and 911 copies of the DL.

Although the 601 was only in production for 2 years, the 601 was a popular car at concours d’elegances. The body style “transformable electrique” (now known as the CC) in particular appealed to the public’s imagination.

The transformable electrique, or the Peugeot ‘Eclipse’, was born thanks to the meeting of three men: Darl’Mat, one of the most important Peugeot dealers, coachbuilder Marcel Pourtout and Georges Paulin, who was actually a dentist but also found his talent in designing of cars. It was Georges Paulin who entrusted the paper with an idea in 1933 to fold a metal roof completely into the trunk. He patented his invention and then went for coffee with Marcel Pourtout. Eventually, they enlisted their friend Darl’Mat to try out the concept on the new 601. The result was astonishing. The iconic Peugeot Eclipse was born.

Within the walls of Peugeot, the Eclipse is also called the Paulin car. Most Eclipse were built on a 601 frame, but some copies were also built on a 401 frame.

Portraits of Parisian Women in the 1930s Taken by André Zucca

In Paris, there began a liberation movement out of the reach of the lawmakers and enforcers. Photographer André Zucca took some amazing portraits of Parisian women from the 1930s:

André Zucca was born in Paris in 1897. He started his career as a photographer in the 1920s, working for theatre magazine Comoedia. From 1935 to 1937, he contributed to various French and foreign magazines, producing a series of photo reports, first across the Balkan States and around the Mediterranean Sea, then aboard a merchant ship from Le Havre to Japan.

In the early days of World War II, he worked as a war correspondent on the Finnish front, and, back in France, chronicled the “phoney war” with Joseph Kessel for Paris-Soir newspaper. In August 1941, he became Paris correspondent for the German propaganda nazi magazine Signal, and thus obtained a work permit, as well black and white films and very rare Agfacolor film. In this context and during three years, he photographed the Parisian and French life during the Occupation, then the Liberation of Paris.

In October 1944, he was arrested then released due to the dropping of charges in 1945. André Zucca left Paris at that time to live near Dreux where he resumed his activity as a local photographer. He settled back in Paris in 1965, and died in Montmartre in 1973.

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35 Old Postcards Capture Rural Life of Brittany From the 1900s

Brittany is a peninsula, historic country and cultural region in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period of Roman occupation. It became an independent kingdom and then a duchy before being united with the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province governed as a separate nation under the crown.

Rural life of Brittany around 1900

Brittany is bordered by the English Channel to the north, Normandy to the northeast, eastern Pays de la Loire to the southeast, the Bay of Biscay to the south, and the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. Its land area is 34,023 km2 (13,136 sq mi).

Brittany is the site of some of the world's oldest standing architecture, home to the Barnenez, the Tumulus Saint-Michel and others, which date to the early 5th millennium BC. Today, the historical province of Brittany is split among five French departments: Finistère in the west, Côtes-d'Armor in the north, Ille-et-Vilaine in the northeast, Morbihan in the south and Loire-Atlantique in the southeast.

Brittany is the traditional homeland of the Breton people and is one of the six Celtic nations, retaining a distinct cultural identity that reflects its history. A nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy within the French Republic.

This is a set of old postcards from Claude LACOURARIE that shows rural life of Brittany around 1900.

Breton peasant women. Traditional production of butter in a hand churn

Concarneau. Country costume

Douarnenez wedding

Guémené-sur-Scorff. Old merchants

Guingamp market

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Curious Pair of Shoes Called “Soles” Ardèche From the Late 19th Century

This footwear, called “Soles”, made in the Ardèche region of France in the 19th century. The soles are heavy duty shoes whose soles are studded with sharp blades. They were in wood for the sole, leather for the portion covering the foot and metal for the dents.

The soles were used to peel the chestnuts, once the fruit freed from its shell adorned with fearsome spines and after a drying time. Each shoe weighs about 2kg.

(via Paul Bert Serpette)

40 Candid Photographs Captured Prostitution Scene in Paris in 1966

Prostitution in Paris, both street prostitution and prostitution from dedicated facilities has a long history but also its own modernity in the French capital. Prostitutes are mostly women but also include transgender people and men.

Of men born between 1920 and 1925, one in five had experienced his first sexual relationship in a maison-close. Paris accommodated many brothels until their prohibition in 1946 following the introduction of the Loi Marthe Richard. 195 establishments were then closed in Paris. Among the most famous are the One-Two-Two, Le Chabanais, Le Sphinx and La Fleur blanche.

From 1960, in the debates over prostitution in France, “abolition” was used to refer to both the abolition of laws and regulations that make any distinction between someone involved in prostitution and the general population, and the abolition of prostitution itself. At that time, police files on prostitutes were finally destroyed. However, implementation varied considerably locally, although prostitution was rarely on the political agenda over the next 30 years. Exceptions were the demonstrations of prostitutes rights movements against police harassment in 1975, and periodic calls by individual politicians for re-opening the “maisons”.

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Amazing Then and Now Photos of Grotte du Grand Roc in Les Eyzies-de-Tayac-Sireuil, France

Grotte du Grand Roc is a cave of calcite concretions, with no history of being used by prehistoric people. It is between Laugerie Basse and the Gorge d’Enfer.

In 1922, Jean Maury, who was then an archaeologist at Laugerie Basse, noticed a small natural terrace halfway up the great cliff of the Grand Roc. He quickly climbed up to discover a small crack from which came a small spring. Unaware of the origin of this flow, his inquiring mind rapidly imagined that a hidden cavity might reveal the source. After two years of hard work and a last mining foray on April 29, 1924, Jean Maury, his sister and daughter, entered the untouched cave.

“Shouts of joy and the national anthem first saluted the discovery. We could admire marvelous stalactites and other strange forms, very clear and surprising, looking as if they had never been seen by anyone before, and others which seemed to come straight out of unrealizable dreams – until the candles we used to light up the way began to burn down too far for us to continue. But at what point had we entered the cave? We passed a column again in the form of a cross, which we identified as the central point. After groping along for a while, we heard our parents calling and followed their voices to find, at last, the fox hole through which we had come. Drained of all anxiety, we presented ourselves proudly in our soaked clothes spattered with mud, filled with enthusiasm by what we had seen.”

The Grotte du Grand Roc opened in 1927; following the discovery in 1924, 3 years were necessary to make the interior and the exterior of the cave suitable for visitors.

The first guests only had candles, and although it was thus a quite picturesque visit, not much could be seen. Acetylene (carbide) lamps were a big improvement which came later, and in 1934 electricity was installed. In 1993, the lighting of the cave was entirely reorganized. Engineers managed to match the various features of the site such as fragility, difficulty of access, and necessary preservation with a genuine artistic view of all the formations in the cave.

(via Don’s Maps)

Vinification: Wonderful Color Photographs Capture the Process of Turning the Grapes Into Wine in Burgundy, 1958

Burgundy is home to some of the most expensive wines in the world, including those of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Domaine Leroy, Henri Jayer, Domaine Leflaive and Domaine Armand Rousseau. Its renown goes back many centuries; in 1522 Erasmus wrote: “O happy Burgundy which merits being called the mother of men since she furnishes from her mammaries such a good milk.” This was echoed by Shakespeare, who refers in King Lear to “the vines of France and milk of Burgundy.”

Burgundy is in some ways the most terroir-oriented region in France; immense attention is paid to the area of origin, and in which of the region's 400 types of soil a wine's grapes are grown. As opposed to Bordeaux, where classifications are producer-driven and awarded to individual chateaux, Burgundy classifications are geographically-focused. A specific vineyard or region will bear a given classification, regardless of the wine’s producer. This focus is reflected on the wine's labels, where appellations are most prominent and producers’ names often appear at the bottom in much smaller text.

Vinification is the process of turning the grapes into wine. It has changed little over the years but there are variations in technique however. Winemakers may follow family tradition for example and of course they take into consideration the characteristics of the plot and the vintage. Once the grape juice or must has completed the alcoholic fermentation, and has turned into wine, ageing in vats or barrels begins. This gives the wine its personality, its unique characteristics and complex aromas.

Pinot Noir is the dominant grape variety for red wine in Burgundy. This grape is a particularly sensitive variety, requiring careful handling. Vinification processes vary from winemaker to winemaker - some for example destalk the grapes, others process whole bunches. For white wines, the grapes are pressed on arrival in the winery, but for red wines they are placed in vats to macerate. The juice is clear to start with and requires contact with the skins and pips to bring colour and tannins to the wine. During this maceration process, the alcoholic fermentation begins, either naturally or sometimes it is triggered with the addition of yeasts. Each day, the cap of skin and pips is broken up and pushed down into the juice to help the development of color and tannins. The process is known as pigeage and used to be done with the feet. Nowadays, a special tool is used.

When fermentation is complete, the wine is pressed and then placed in vats or barrels for ageing. During the ageing process, the red wines undergo a second malolactic fermentation, during which the malic acid in the wine turns to lactic acid, making the wine smoother.

For white wine, the grapes are pressed straight after harvesting, usually without destalking. Here the skins and pips are discarded unlike in the red wine process of maceration. The juice is then put into oak barrels or vats and alcoholic fermentation takes place. In Burgundy, a secondary malolactic fermentation takes places where the malic acid in the juice turns into lactic acid making the wines smoother. In wines made elsewhere, this second fermentation doesn’t happen.

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30 Intimate Photographs That Capture Everyday Life in French Psychiatric Hospitals in the 1950s

Jean-Philippe Charbonnier (August 28, 1921 – May 28, 2004) was a French photographer whose works typify the humanist impulse in that medium in his homeland of the period after World War II.

In 1954,  Charbonnier documented French psychiatric hospitals, and some of the photographs were published in Réalités in January 1955, in which he employed an objective point of view exposed conditions in a mental hospital that are a valuable document today in gauging the progress of psychiatric treatment (a number of the most powerful images were not published due to the sensitivities of the 1950s).

“I stayed 6 weeks in mental hospitals. The agitator who breaks everything and lives naked in a cell in the soiled straw; the alcoholic on drug treatment, whose vomiting pierces the night and flows materially under his door; women in camisoles, prostrate, desexed and mustachioed who throw themselves to the doctors’ necks. What patience! Bottomless looks, words without follow-up...

“At the White House Psychiatric Hospital, I had seen, as on skid row, a foolish cohort of doddering women, twelve to seventy years old, who came to the bath: smelling terribly. The nurses undressed, bathed, rubbed, rinsed, gave them clean clothes out of the autoclave. After this salutary ceremony, the unfortunate women came back before me, dolled up, all fresh, smiling, heartbreaking: ‘Hello sir, Hello sir, Hello sir, etc …’ But the same smell persisted. It was in them. As if it was not enough for them to be crazy...”

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Young Couple Wearing a Two-in-One Suit at the Bal de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, 1931

Here, two men are shown wearing a two-in-one suit at the Bal de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, Paris. This photo was taken by famed Hungarian-French photographer Brassai in 1931.

(© The Brassaï Estate)

Paris is intriguing in that it is less about homosexual practice and more about making public the secret social rituals of the homosexual subculture of the 1930s. It is a documentary statement of the ordinary private conduct. Brassai does not judge his subjects but simply presents them as they present themselves to one another.

Born Gyula Halász (1899-1984) he took the French pseudonym, Brassaï, in honor of his Hungarian hometown in Brassó, Transylvania. The young artist moved to Paris where he intended to paint, but took up photography when he recognized the camera’s inimitable ability to capture the light in the dark, and the way it revealed itself on silver gelatin paper. These images, which earned him the title of “the eye of Paris” on an essay by Henry Miller, gave Brassaï instant entrée to café society and the haute monde, to the glorious glamour and decadence that was Paris between the World Wars. In this fleeting moment of history, Brassaï captured it all.

The Bal de la Montagne Sainte-Geneviève is a dance hall from another era located on a hill above the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Inside, couples move together across the dance floor. Everyone dresses in their finest; a big band is on stage, and; the floor is always mobbed and throbbing with dancers.

(© The Brassaï Estate)