Monday, April 25, 2011

Essay: Letter regarding: Paris Exposition 1900

Much of my time from 2008 to 2010 was spent taking courses from Athabasca University. I thought that it might be interesting to convert some of the essay assignments – such as this one – into blog postings. 
One course was called Writing Creative Non-Fiction. The essay was supposed to be History or Cultural Criticism. I looked at some old books in my personal library and then used my imagination...

I have a small collection of World’s Fairs Guide Books acquired during visits to old book stores. One particular book could have inspired this letter to an Albertan newspaper:

Regarding: Paris Exposition 1900
May 18, 1900
The Editor, Calgary Herald
Dear Mr. Young,
 
At last week’s club meeting you seemed quite interested the upcoming trip to this summer’s Paris Exposition that my wife and I are taking. I mentioned reading Father Lacombe’s letter in your May 3rd edition[1] which described his recent voyage to France and I then promised to attempt a few irregular dispatches for your newspaper. Hopefully you will find room to publish an edited version of my modest efforts between the South African war news and those patent medicine advertisements that you are so fond of printing.

I would like to review a useful tourist guide book which has kept us up late as we plan our trip on recent evenings. This book is titled simply Paris Exposition 1900 and was published by La Librairie Hachette & Cie. While it is written entirely in the French language, I managed to muddle through with my grammar school skills and the assistance of my French-speaking wife.[2]

This book is a handy size similar to that of a pocket edition Bible. There are 485 pages in 16 chapters with a final Compass-Guide that I will discuss later. It is covered in a red leather-like material similar to that of a diplomatic passport. The title is embossed in gold letters. The materials are of good quality and I expect that this book could still be in excellent condition a century from now.

Exploring such a guide book is somewhat like exploring an unfamiliar city. First the traveller gets oriented, finds a home base and studies the practicalities of daily life. Then he steps cautiously into unknown neighbourhoods to discover the sights waiting in mysterious corners. A visitor to downtown Calgary does not walk the entire length of Stephen Avenue followed by the adjoining street, but rather gets quickly diverted by the new construction, mountain views and river valley parks. In a similar manner, I might begin systematically studying the names of statuary in the Tuileries Gardens of Paris on page 167 but then get quite distracted on page 169 by a long description of the Paris Commune and the events of May 1871. I read there that this was when the historic palace in that same location was destroyed using barrels of burning oil and explosive powder. The officers of the Commune “admired the savage and grandiose spectacle” from the terrace of the Louvre. In such a city – and in such a book – history and interesting distractions are always ready at hand.

 Mercantile distractions are also common to both city and book. For a simple railway land surveyor such as me – a visitor from the far reaches of Her Majesty’s Empire – the advertisements for chocolates, hotels, theatres and clothing stores are quite educational and tempting. One department store has a prominent illustration of “The Exposition Suit” complete with pin-striped fabric, monocle, bowler hat, cane, white gloves, cigarette and lapel boutonnière. (I suspect that such an Exposition Suited dandy would not survive very long among the boisterous crowds of a Calgary stampede!). Along with these advertisements, near the end of the volume, I found fifty coupons for theatres, sporting events and cabarets. If clipped and presented upon admission, these will save 10 to 30 per cent on the ticket price.

Before overcoming the allure of such distracting merchandise, it is first necessary to reach the exposition city; but the book points to a solution. Several maps show the distance, travel time and cost to the major world cities. They show, for example, that travel to Paris from Vancouver is 10774 km by train and ship, it takes 13 days and the ticket costs 825 francs. (A handy Money Chart indicates that 5 francs equals a single American dollar). The reader is then directed to “Agence Cook” to arrange passage. (Of course, I have myself booked tickets from my railway employer. I refer you to the prominent CPR advertisement in the current issue of the Herald).

As a CPR employee I took particular notice of the practical hints given for railway travel. For example, I am directed upon arrival to adjust my pocket watch since the official time in Paris is 9 minutes ahead of that in London. Apparently France does not match their time zones to the Greenwich Meridian as we do in North America.

Passengers are instructed to arrive well before train departure. Then, after choosing our seat, the guide suggests we mark our seat with a small possession if we need to leave momentarily. We are then warned that
Certain travelers, loving their ease, scatter their effects on all the banquettes to pretend that the car is full; a great way to prevent this is to count the umbrellas and canes: their number shows the occupants. In case of opposition, call a company employee.
The book writers might be surprised at just how few residents of our Alberta district travel carry neither cane or umbrella!

The book contains a veritable mine of practical advice. The General Information chapter includes two pages crammed with the details of postal, telegraph and telephone communication. We discover that it costs but 15 centimes to send a short letter anywhere in France; but a 3 minute telephone call to London will cost a full 10 francs. To put such prices in perspective, we learn there are 100 centimes to each franc, the daily wage for a parlour maid is about 1 franc and 10 francs pays for a visit to the dentist and a tooth extraction.

Telegrams are the obvious lower cost alternative to telephone service.  A half-page is dedicated to the intricacies of the Petit Code Télégraphique. There we discover that if we use the code BLÉ it has the meaning “Received your letter. I will mail a reply” while the code DERBY means “Arrived well, excellent trip, will write tonight or tomorrow. Greetings”.

Practical fashion advice is provided for travellers, both man and woman. An example is a section titled “The Cleavage” which I have myself translated as:
If dinner is a great ceremony, or if the theatre is not one where you can show bare shoulders and arms, there is a moderate behaviour which we are committed to: that is the dress of lace or silk muslin rising with long sleeves, under which one perceives discreetly the bare neck and arms.
Such practical notes are followed by a chapter of 140 pages dedicated to a general guide to the hotels, cafes, museums, theatres, art and general city sights. Engraved maps, some of which are unfortunately printed too small for easy viewing, are provided for the major parks and cemeteries. For the major museums descriptions are provided for each display room. Engraved reproductions with descriptions are provided for the major art works.  If one has a taste for the macabre, visitation details are included for the catacombs and major cemeteries. (One can even arrange a tour of the city morgue). The amount of detail is quite impressive and a traveller could stay for many years without exhausting the list of essential sights.

Nearly half the book is dedicated to the World Exposition. The buildings are centred on the River Seine and the Champs de Mars. Dominating the centre is Eiffel’s Tower which was erected for the previous exposition of 1889.

Here are found pavilions from the major civilized countries and some quite small and remote nations. There is even a pavilion complete with farm and gold mining exhibit from The Transvaal where the Boers are now fighting such a fierce war. There are smaller exhibits from even the most obscure French overseas colonies. I searched carefully though and found no exhibit for the wonders of Eastern Canada let alone these North-West Territories where we are so fortunate to live. To me such an exposition seems an obvious place for Canadians to show off their scenic beauty and offer our diverse products to the world market. (I must wonder why we have not done so).

Among pavilions of world interest there are a few that seem rather mundane with little general interest. The Palace of Hygiene includes a wide variety of heating and ventilation machinery which might interest a plumber or building engineer; but I suspect that my wife would get quickly bored. Having a professional interest in trains and machinery, I am planning to travel just outside the city to the Vincennes Annex which has 20 tracks full of various railway equipment surrounded by a field of agricultural and industrial machinery. There is even a building for the Exposition d’Automobiles.
Some exhibits are designed for amusement rather than education. Back in the city there are several on my “must-see” list. One entire pavilion is dedicated to Russian Alcohol, while another, Le Cinéorama, promises to reproduce the effect of a balloon voyage across Europe to Africa! Another sure to amaze, is Le Maréorama which is said to mimic an ocean voyage on, and even under, the Mediterranean Sea complete with smoking volcanoes, mermaids and spectacular storms.

My wife has a far greater appreciation of the arts than I do. She has promised to educate me on things both ancient and modern. For the latest in modern style there is the Rodin pavilion just outside the Exposition gates. There the great sculptor is displaying his greatest achievements including his Gates of Hell and Statue of Balzac. I expect my cultural tastes are rather more ancient and I will prefer the paintings of Rembrandt and da Vinci that hang in the Louvre.

I also look forward to the many sporting events happening this summer. The agenda includes running, rugby, golf, gymnastics and shooting. Professional and amateur races are listed. Contests have been scheduled for Automobilisme, boating, horse racing, lifesaving and aeronautic ballooning. (I think some of these were organized as a successor to those Olympic Games which were first held just four years ago, but such is not indicated in this book).

Near the end of the guide book, I find a section on sights reachable as day-trips outside the boundaries of Paris. After that is a four-language phrase book followed by a commercial business directory. The listings range from abat-jour (lampshades) to vitraux (windows); though I don’t expect we will be buying either of those this summer!

At the very end of the book is one of the most interesting, unique and yet ultimately frustrating features of this book. There is a removable section built like a thin cardboard box. It is the size of a book page and about 3/8 inch thick. The title declares this to be a Boussole-Guide d’Orientation or Compass Orientation Guide. In the middle is a small functioning compass surrounded by three circular paper disks; these are printed with maps on both sides. By changing map disks and rotating the same to align with the magnetic north compass indication, the user should be able to navigate with ease. Unfortunately the small book size means the uncoloured maps are intricate and difficult to read. Then the user has to hold the Boussole-Guide level while walking and touring. This would be quite impractical while navigating busy city streets in inclement weather. Finally, the instructions to change disks are surprising complex and it might take several minutes to make the switch. I suspect that I could navigate the streets easier with my sextant and surveyor’s log books than by using this Orientation Guide!

While that final compass feature is rather unwieldy, the rest of the book is highly recommended. While currently our days are quite full as we prepare for our upcoming departure, we will have almost a fortnight to study this book and relax during our voyage. By careful planning, I expect to make effective use every hour of Exposition time that is available to us.

I will keep you informed of my progress and discoveries,
Yours truly,

Albert A. Livingston, Surveyor


[1] The Herald and Father Lacombe’s letter was read online at www.ourfutureourpast.ca [Link now broken]
[2] While this letter writer is a literary invention, a copy of the actual Paris guide book is in my personal collection.
In the year 2010, the Google Translate web page was of great assistance in writing this piece.

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