Gargantua and Pantagruel, which spewed forth from the pen of this doctor-monk between 1532 and 1564. The work was condemned by the Church and the faculty at the Sorbonne in Paris. Rabelais’s unique literary legacy is without peer.]]> François Rabelais]]> Books]]> Paris Impérial wrote: ‘Now that gas has reached the little streets of the big city, night truly is no more, because darkness has been banished.’ One who haunted the nocturnal delights of Paris was photographer Brassaï, real name Gyula Halász (1899–1984), who produced his Paris de Nuit (Paris by Night) in 1933. This work featured sixty images that depicted the darkest corners of Paris. As he stated: ‘My constant aim was to make people see an aspect of daily life as if they had discovered it for the first time.’ Here is his Notre-Dame from the windows on the Île Saint Louis, and a glimpse of the Boulevards at the Palace de l’Opéra.]]> Brassaï]]> Books]]> Auguste Logerot]]> Books]]> Ministère de Travaux Publics]]> Pamphlets]]> ___]]> Pamphlets]]> Le Temps on 14 February 1887 on what is perhaps today the cultural icon of Paris – and France: the Eiffel Tower. Conceived by engineers Maurice Koechlin and Émile Nouguier, and finally patented by Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (1832-1923), this 324-metre structure was constructed between 1887–89 as the entrance to the Exposition Universelle, a world’s fair held to celebrate the centennial of the French Revolution. The Tower is one of the most visited monuments in the world; 6.91 million ascended it in 2015.]]> ___]]> Pamphlets]]> John Rewald]]> Books]]> pouf that depicted the bizarre, contemporary scene of Louis XVI’s inoculation against smallpox. In Langlade’s biography of the celebrated Bertin, he describes Marie Antoinette’s reign as ‘one of futility and chiffon’. Unfortunately, the Queen’s love of extravagance fanned the flames of the Revolution that would be her downfall.]]> Émile Langlade]]> Books]]> Calligrammes (1918), a series of poems that incorporated words, letters and phrases into complex visual collages, like concrete poetry. Subtitled ‘Poems of Peace and War 1913-1916’, many of them – like his ‘Letter to André Billy, 9th April 1915’ - reflected his experiences while an infantryman during WWI. ‘Harden Old Heart’ was not published in his lifetime. The poet who wrote ‘I love art so much, I have joined the artillery’ died on 9 November 1918, the day the Armistice ending the War was announced.]]> Guillaume Apollinaire]]> Books]]> Coucou éclatant. Lesson may have known the bird’s Māori name – Pīpīwharauroa – but he left it off the engraving.]]> René Primevère Lesson]]> Engraving]]> La Coquille (1822–25). He collected and drew hundreds of mammals, birds, fish, and invertebrate specimens from island groups scattered through the South Pacific and Australia. This engraving of a South Island Kōkako (top) appeared in his 1838 edition of Compléments de Buffon, Races humaines et mammifères. Although a New Zealand species, the bird’s habitat is listed as ‘Cochin-China in south-east Asia’ in the book (p.448).]]> René Primevère Lesson]]> Engraving]]> Contes drolatiques that would appear in ten volumes. In reality, he finished 30 stories, publishing under the title, Les Cents Contes drolatiques, in 1832, 1833, and then 1837; the other 70 remain fragmentary pieces. Although best known for his large novel sequence La Comédie Humaine, it was to his Droll Tales that he looked for literary immortality: ‘The Droll Tales will constitute my principal title to fame in days to come’ (letter to Madame Hanska, August 1833). They have been illustrated by many artists, including Gustave Doré and Mervyn Peake. Here Jean de Bosschère (1878–1953), the Belgian artist, offers his interpretation on Balzac’s Rabelaisian tales.]]> Honoré de Balzac]]> Books]]> Edme Arcambeau]]> Books]]> un potager’ – for Louis XIV in 1678. On nine hectares, La Quintinie made use of raised beds, glass cloches, and walled gardens to provide the King’s kitchen with a year round supply of produce. Using newly developed growing techniques, he was able to produce most fruit and vegetables out of season. Described as ‘something between an outdoor laboratory and an early example of agribusiness’ (Thompson, 2006), La Quintinie oversaw 30 gardeners, who helped him grow, amongst other things, the King’s favourite – peas. This translated edition shows the layout of the potager with central water reservoir.]]> Jean de La Quintinie]]> Books]]> langue d’oc (in the south), langue d’oïl (north), and Gallo (the Celtic Breton area). In his dedication to this eight edition of The Complete French Master, Abel Boyer (c.1667-1729), an Anglo-French lexicographer, writes that French was ‘reckoned part of a genteel education’. Many of the 80-90 million native speakers of French today would heartily agree.]]> Abel Boyer]]> Books]]> Costume History contains examples of the ‘over-the-top’ styles popularised by Marie Antoinette – impractical wigs and headwear (les poufs) worn with elaborate dresses. Today, Paris is still at the very centre of all things fashionable.]]> Auguste Racinet]]> With kind permission © 2015 TASCHEN GmbH, Hohenzollernring 53, D-50672 Köln, www.taschen.com]]> Books]]> Gentleman’s Magazine describes the final and decisive pincer move executed by the English to capture Montreal in September 1760. The French surrendered to England; and as the Magazine article states the English were now in ‘quiet possession of all North America’.]]> ___]]> Books]]> Gargantua and Pantagruel.]]> François Rabelais]]> Every effort has been made to trace copyright ownership and to obtain permission for reproduction. If you believe you are the copyright owner of an item on this site, and we have not requested your permission, please contact us at special.collections@otago.ac.nz ]]> Books]]> Notre Dame de Paris; more commonly known as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame. First published in 1831, the backdrop of the love story between Esmeralda and Quasimodo is the famous Gothic cathedral. Hugo (1802-1885) was a preservationist who was vitriolic towards ‘vandals’ who knocked down old buildings in the name of progress. Indeed, the language of architecture permeates the novel. The British artist Quentin Blake (b. 1932) designed this striking cover image.]]> Victor Hugo]]> Books]]> Modern Housewife, takes the form of an epistolary recipe exchange between two fictitious housewives, Eloise and Hortense.]]> Alexis Soyer]]> Books]]> Alexis Soyer]]> Books]]> James Duncan]]> Books]]> L’Étranger carries one of the best opening lines in the literary world: ‘Mother died today’ (‘Aujourd’hui, maman est morte’ in the original). It was first published in a run of 4,400 copies in 1942. Translator Stuart Gilbert called the book The Outsider, rather than the more common The Stranger. The French Algerian-born Camus (1913–1960) paints a sunny pessimism of man and his lot: ‘In our society any man who does not weep at his mother’s funeral runs the risk of being sentenced to death… I only meant that the hero of my book is condemned because he does not play the game.’ The year 2017 marks the 75th anniversary of the first printing of Camus’ work.]]> Albert Camus]]> Books]]> Lucy Norton]]> Books]]> Français. After consulting with other polar explorers like Bruce and Shackleton, Charcot set off on his second voyage into the Antarctic on the Pourquoi-pas? in 1908. Aboard ship were 30 men, 250 tons of coal, various pieces of scientific apparatus, provisions for three years, a dozen sledges, and several pairs of skis. Boat and crew wintered over on the SE coast of Petermann Island on the Antarctic Peninsula. Despite ‘violent and continual attacks of Antarctic tempests’ they carried out scientific observations and collected data. Despite experiencing some sickness, all survived and returned to France in June 1910.]]> Jean Charcot]]> Books]]>