Another old postcard

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Old postcards - la Gare

the 1906 postcard's view today; from a little closer to the station

 a Google Earth version 29 June 2012 - more wide-angle

15 September 1906, a day for your sabots..

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Four old postcards of rue Henri Proust, formerly called rue St. Anne

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- Herzliche Danken to Wolfgang Roth for finding these cards -

the location is shown on the map to the right

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4 more postcards of old Richelieu

Claire et Nick have sent versions of four more postcards to add to our archive of views 'from the olden days'.

The first of the gatehouse of the porte de Loudun....

Then a card of the church and main square the place du Marché in its old layout...

Then the Grande Rue looking north from the place du Marché...

and finally the then shopping street of rue de la Galère.

Merci Claire.

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Old postcards of Richelieu

Chums of Abbé Henri Proust, Claire et Nick,  have supplied these postcards that show the town in the early part of the 20th century.  They make the town look pretty crumbly, don't you think? 

The most fascinating is the overview of the much 'younger' parc.  The version of the parc that we know today was mostly the work of the Heine family, as much as that of the first dukes of Richelieu, already long gone in the 1870s.

The absence of today's central rose-garden on the courtyard of the old château gives a rather pleasing open space at the absolute centre of M. Lemercier's composition for the cardinal. Rather as with the old layout of the place du Marché; our 19th century grand-fathers couldn't resist plopping something down in the centre of an open space!

The new Richelieu stamp (2)

Thank you Jean et Caroline for getting us an immaculate first day cover (5th August 2008) of the 0.55 cent stamp depicting the Duc-Cardinal and the Porte de Châtellerault of the town of Richelieu.

This follows an earlier post in this  site, warning of the issue by La Poste.

The new 0.55€ RICHELIEU stamp

La Poste is about to issue a new stamp, for the value of 0.55 euros.  As you can see the design features the statue of the Cardinal-Duc de Richelieu that today stands between the park and the town, and the Porte de Châtellerault at the southern extremity of the walled cité.  First day covers are available at the post office in the place du Marché on 5th and 6th July 2008, and the designer, M. Claude Jumelet, will give a talk about the project.

Thanks to Jean-Louis Laurence for tipping us off on his blog today.

Postcards from about 1910

These postcards from the period before 1914 and show the dusty drowsy state of the town in that era.  Although Richelieu is still 'a bit cut off' from the rest of Touraine and Poitou, 20 km from any other comparable town, at least this isolation is diminished today by motor transportation. 

Before 1914 and popular car ownership, the town relied on its rail connection to Chinon and beyond, constructed in 1880 for the trade in veal for the tables of Paris.  Before that, for the wealthier the carriage or the horse and for the poor, walking.  Note the arrival of early cars in some of the pictures.  They produced some tourism - and the consequent market in postcards.

The Pheasant Hotel - Le Café et Hôtel du Faisan

Le Faisan café and hotel is located in the south-east corner of the place du Marché. 

Today standing empty, it is said to be owned by an englishman who hesitates to refurbish his property while occasionally sustaining his official hotel licence by hosting a public event. It is the second hotel located on this square, being a companion (and formerly a competitor) to le Puits Doré hotel, whose doors are said never to have closed since the foundation of the town in the 1640s.

It is sad that the locked-up building now blights that important corner of the square. And that the extended original façade (look at the additional 19th century top floor) cannot be restored to match the other original buildings that flank the complete seventeenth-century square, so recently restored to its former glory.

The upper picture taken from a postcard of about 1920 shows happier and more active days.

Axial view of the Château of Richelieu

I found this nice picture on the blog site of the Château de Milly which is a few miles from Richelieu to the south, past Razines.  It seems that when the agent Boutron scandalously demolished the castle he may have flogged some bits that reappered in the tower at Château de Milly. Remember the sculptures on the house in Richelieu that came from the same source, it is said.

Thanks to Sylvain for the information.