Bourg. Place Carriat, Société Générale, France, ca early 1900s
Today’s unused vintage postcards feature black & white photographs of from the prefecture Bourg-en-Bresse, located in Ain department of Eastern France, about 70 km or 43 miles northeast of Lyon. The top card is numbered 29 at left of the title. The photograph shows the square and fountain. The company Léon & Lévy (LL) took the photographs and printed the card. LL was a prolific postcard producer in France during the golden age of postcards, 1890 to 1915. The logo LL or L.L. is found on the title line.
The woman’s clothing, the fact that she is wearing a hat and carrying a parasol plus the horse drawn carriage at the right middle of the picture all provide a a way to date the photograph to the early 1900s.
Bourg, La Préfecture, France, ca early 1900s
This second card is numbered 12 at the left of the title. It also has the LL. Logo and features a black & white photograph, this time of the Prefecture building. Although there are no people in this picture it has the same green backing as the top card. That together with the number 12 suggests that it is also from the early 1900s.
In Bourg-en-Bresse agriculture and agro-industry include things like cultivation of cereals, cattle breeding, milk and cheese production and poultry farming. Tourism and handcrafts also play important parts in the economy. Several colleges and research institutions are located in Bourg-en-Bresse too.
Not much is known of the early history; however, Roman remains have been found in Bourg-en-Bresse. It became a free town in 1250 and became the capital of Savoy in the 15th century. It was the site of a 6-month siege during the Franco-Savoyard War of 1600-1601 when it finally ceded to France.
I purchased both cards, found in a shoe box jumble of postcards, at a local antique mall.
For additional information, see:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bourge-en-Bresse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9on_%26_L%C3%A9vy
No comments:
Post a Comment