Category Archives: History

History, Paris, Sheet Music Covers

Le Train des Maris

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‘Le Train des Maris‘ by Georges Bolle & Ludivic Turquet, published by Union Musicale (Paris, s.d.) and illustrated by Charles Biqual.

With the development of railways in the second half of the 19th century, the upper and middle classes started to enjoy the summer  at the seaside. Women and children could stay for one or two months while the husbands joined them each weekend.

Every Saturday evening, after work, a train full of happy husbands departed direction coast and returned back on Monday morning. These express trains from Paris or Brussels to and fro the North Sea resorts were called trains des maris (husband trains). In Germany it was the Ehemännerzug which brought the husbands from Berlin to the Baltic Sea and back again.

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On the naive Parisian trade card above two men buy their tickets, first class of course, for the train des maris.

According to the Figaro there also existed ‘trains des amants’ or lover trains – so very French! On Monday morning these trains brought the young men from the cities to the ‘lonely’ married wives at the resorts. They returned home on Saturday morning before the arrival of the husbands…

The Belgian artist Félicien Rops made an amusing etching of a train des maris: a wife and her lover are seen kissing, behind huge and symbolic horns while in the distance the horn-bearing train takes her husband on his way.

Digital Capture

I don’t think it is a coincidence that Charles Biqual depicts the horned cows in the foreground of the sheet music cover, do you?

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Anyway, some women seemed very cheerful when the train des maris had left, as illustrated by Herouard for La Vie Parisienne.

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Entertainment, Film, History, Literature, Lyrics & Poetry, Sheet Music Covers

Excelsior by Longfellow, a Tale of Hubris

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‘Excelsior‘, a poem by Longfellow set to music by John Blockley, published by Cramer, Beale & C° (London, s.d.). Illustrated by Alexander Laby.

Excelsior (1841), a classical poem, by the American Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) was set to music dozens of times. The cover above illustrates the music for the poem composed by John Blockley.  Excelsior is the most parodied of all Longfellows poems, being almost a parody of itself. The theme of the poem is punishment for human hubris or excessive pride. A boy, bearing a banner ‘Excelsior’, wants to climb higher and higher in the Alps. He ignores all warnings from the local villagers and ends up dead. Half-buried in the snow he is found by a St. Bernard and some monks.

Excelsior was also illustrated for the magic lantern. We found the images of the slides hereunder on Laterna magica’s website. The projection of slides during a singing performance led to a new, often lucrative business of producing these illustrated songs (1). These slides were remarkable because they were handcoloured photographs made of real life models and decors constructed in a studio. These slides immediately preceded cinema.

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(1) The Magic Lantern Slide Set to Music: The Illustrated Song Slide, by Nancy A. Bergh, in: ML Bulletin, vol. I, no. 4, January 1980 

History, Sheet Music Covers

Paris-Vienne

'Paris-Vienne, march by Justin Clérice - sheet music
‘Paris-Vienne‘, march by Justin Clérice, published by Enoch, Père & Fils (Paris, 1907). Illustration: Clérice frères

France was a pioneer in the automotive industry and the leading country in car racing during the Belle Epoque. Paris-Rouen (1894) was the first motoring contest in the world. The winner drove at an average speed of 19 km/h. Soon some international city-to-city races followed. The above cover by Clérice Frères refers to the Paris-Vienna automobile race run in 1902. It gives an idyllic image

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Details from the Paris-Viene lithographic sheet music cover by Clérice Frères

of the automobiles driving through the mountains and enjoying the panorama. In reality the race was not so comfortable. The total distance was split into four days and run over four stages.

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Competitors in the Paris-Vienna race arriving at Troyes at 120 km/h according to the postcard.

The Swiss did not allow racing, so the participants had to drive less than 25 km/h through Switzerland. The very dusty roads made it sometimes impossible to see anything. Two of the participants were Louis and Marcel Renault. Louis, a daredevil like his brother, had an accident because he decided not to ignite his lights in fear of losing time. In the dark, he missed a curve and smashed his car. One wheel  was immediately repaired with the help of a chair and a penknife. A blacksmith had to repair an axis. And while driving his co-pilot had to constantly fill the radiator with water. Still he managed to finish the race in 28th position. His brother Marcel did better and won the race. Lucien Faure drew Marcel Renault in full action.

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Marcel Renault and his mechanic, illustration by Lucien Faure

The heroic Paris-Vienne race was also immortalised in ceramic tiles for the Michelin house in London.

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The race Paris-Vienna immortalized in tiles for the Bibendum house in London

Marcel Renault was killed the following year during the Paris-Madrid race. The news of this disastrous event made it to all the front pages and —together with other tragic incidents during the race—  marked the end of the city-to-city races. Except perhaps for the Dakar..?