Marié de L'Isle

I’ve mentioned the French photographer Henri Manuel a couple of times here. Today I came across this lovely portrait of the French mezzo soprano Célestine Galli-Marié known as Marié de l’Isle, it was taken by him. I haven’t managed to find out much about her at all. She was born in 1840, married a sculptor called Galli and died in 1905.

Tomorrow we’re off to an auction in another town. I wonder what treasures we’ll find.

Donkeys in pyjamas

A little bit of local culture. Across the way on the Ile de Ré, the donkeys have always worn pyjamas! Even today you can find them if you know where to look. This might seem to be a strange idea, but in the past the working donkeys were troubled by mosquitoes biting their legs. This card shows a donkey with his mistress and the caption reads: “Around here everyone wears the trousers… even the mistress.”

An afternoon stroll

Today we’ll take a trip in our time capsule and stroll down Avenue de la Gare, stopping for a drink outside the Café de la Poste (on the left) on the way. Although the edges of the postcard are faded, details like the moustache on the man on the right can easily be seen with a strong magnifying glass. The card was sent in 1927.

This is what I call Paris

An original view of the Eiffel tower around 1907