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“The Red Virgin”

Those of you who have been long-time readers of my blogs know that I like to highlight women who were significant to the historical periods I write about (e.g., Medieval Paris, French Revolution, and now, World War II and the Occupation of Paris). So many of these women are overlooked for their roles and accomplishments.

Today, you will be introduced to a woman who was considered a revolutionary as well as an anarchist. Over her lifetime, Louise Michel was given many nicknames: La Louve rouge (the red she-wolf), the “French grande dame of anarchy,” and la Bonne Louise (the good Louise). But it was “The Red Virgin” label which most people knew her by. Michel was a sought-after speaker, a playwright, an author, and a well-known advocate for women’s rights including education and property rights.


Did you Know?

Did you know that Queen Elizabeth II’s profile faces right on every coin she’s featured on? The tradition is to reverse the profile with each succeeding reigning monarch. So, going back to Queen Victoria, her profile faces left while her son, Edward VII (r. 1901-1910), faces right. His son, George V (r. 1910-1936), looks to the left, but his successor, George VI (r. 1936-1952) also faces to the left. Did George VI (Queen Elizabeth II’s father) break tradition? Not really. It was Edward VIII who chose to break tradition and during his short reign (eleven months; he abdicated in December 1936), the coins were minted with his profile facing left. After the abdication, George VI took the view that his brother’s profile should have been to the right and as such, opted to continue the tradition by facing left. His daughter carried on the tradition and her profile is to the right.

British coin with Queen Victoria (Great-great-great grandmother of Elizabeth II) facing left. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
British coin with Queen Victoria (Great-great-great grandmother of Elizabeth II) facing left. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
1908 British coin with King Edward VII (son of Queen Victoria) facing right. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
1908 British coin with King Edward VII (son of Queen Victoria) facing right. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
British coin with King George V (son of King Edward VII) facing left. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
British coin with King George V (son of King Edward VII) facing left. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
British coin with King Edward VIII (eldest son of King George V) facing left. Edward abdicated the throne eleven months after being crowned king. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
British coin with King Edward VIII (eldest son of King George V) facing left. Edward abdicated the throne eleven months after being crowned king. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
British coin with King George VI (younger son of King George V) facing left. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
British coin with King George VI (younger son of King George V) facing left. Photo by anonymous (date unknown).
Coin with Queen Elizabeth II (daughter of King George VI) facing right. Photo by Rabax63 (2017). PD-CCA-Share Alike 4.0 International. Wikimedia Commons.
Coin with Queen Elizabeth II (daughter of King George VI) facing right. Photo by Rabax63 (2017). PD-CCA-Share Alike 4.0 International. Wikimedia Commons.

Let’s Meet Louise Michel

Louise Michel (1830-1905) was the illegitimate daughter of a maid. Coincidentally, she was born in the year when the citizens rose to depose the last Bourbon king, Charles X. Raised by her grandparents, Louise received an excellent education and ultimately became a teacher. In 1865, she opened a progressive school in Paris and began to associate with radical members of society including Théophile Ferré. By this time, Napoléon III and his Second Empire ruled the country and as the years went on, general dissatisfaction with the emperor grew.

Louise Michel, Communard and Anarchist. Photo by anonymous (c. 1879). PD-70+. Wikimedia Commons.
Louise Michel, Communard and Anarchist. Photo by anonymous (c. 1879). PD-70+. Wikimedia Commons.

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The First Celebrity Photographer

I am going to begin writing some blogs on individuals we plan to feature in the seventh and last volume of the series on Paris. Once we publish the two volumes of Where Did They Put the Gestapo Headquarters? A Walking Tour of Nazi Occupied Paris (1940-1944) later this year, we will begin Where Did They Bury Jim Morrison, the Lizard King?.  It is a walking tour of curious Paris cemeteries. While there are many books on Paris cemeteries (Père Lachaise in particular), they all seem to have one thing in common: they highlight or take you to the same famous occupants (e.g., Oscar Wilde, Edith Piaf, and yes, even Jim Morrison). In other words, the authors don’t seem to differentiate their books. So, I decided our book will be different. We will introduce you to people you’ve likely never heard about. These are people with very interesting accomplishments and life stories but like much of history today, they are now forgotten.

Self-portrait of Félix Nadar. Photo by Félix Nadar (c. 1860). Bibliotheque nationales, Paris, France. PD-100+. Wikimedia Commons.
Self-portrait of Félix Nadar. Photo by Félix Nadar (c. 1860). Bibliotheque nationales, Paris, France. PD-100+. Wikimedia Commons.

Our subject today was a narcissist, self-confident, and self-promoting artist who led an extremely interesting and exciting life. Packed into his ninety-years, Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (1820-1910) hosted the first impressionist art show, took the world’s first aerial photograph (and first underwater photo), embarked on daring balloon rides, built a huge glowing (red gas) sign across the front of his Parisian studio, co-founded a luxury literary journal at the age of nineteen (he persuaded Alexandre Dumas and Honoré de Balzac to contribute), wrote literary articles, began the first airmail service, and became a sought after illustrator/caricaturist. However, his international fame both then and now is based on the legacy of being the world’s first celebrity photographer.


Did You Know?

Did you know that King James VI of Scotland (as well as being James I of England) was the most prolific witch-hunting monarch in history? He even wrote a book, Daemonologie, to convince people that witches were real and to vigorously pursue their persecution. He claimed a witch’s crime to be “high treason against God.” Between 1450 and 1750, more than 100,000 people (mostly women) were tried as witches with about half of them were put to death. Scotland arrested and tried around 4,000 suspected witches. King James personally sat in on many of the “interrogations” where the women would ultimately confess under torture. After he called Agnes Sampson a liar during an interrogation session, she went up to him and whispered in his ear exactly what he had discussed with the queen while in bed the prior evening. Up to that point, the king had not been convinced of her guilt but being that she was correct, he pronounced her guilty. As to Agnes’s fate, she was burned at the stake.


Let’s Meet Nadar

Félix Tournachon and his younger brother, Adrien (1825-1903), were born in Paris where their father, Victor Tournachon, was a printer and bookseller. Félix studied medicine but after his father died, Félix quit and joined the bohemian crowd. However, he had developed a love for reading and his favorite authors were Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas. His first jobs were as a journalist and caricaturist. Félix was given his nickname, “Nadar”, by a friend in 1839 and he immediately began using it as his pen name for the articles he wrote for newspapers and magazines. Nadar married Ernestine (1836-1909) in 1854 and they had one son, Paul (1856-1939). Read More The First Celebrity Photographer