F U T U R O !

And Other Parisian Pleasures

Now that I live in California, there’s not much that I miss about London, but I do really miss taking the Eurostar train from St Pancras station to Paris. I used to go a few times a year for work, and for pleasure.

First published, March 28, 1931, Voila magazine’s final issue was April 1950.

My first stop on arrival would usually be to check out the little green book stalls that ran alongside the Seine, and look for vintage French magazines for my collection. I thought I’d share some of those gems here. First up, and above, Voila magazine, 16 Septembre 1938. Interestingly they had a dual cover, back and front. This is the back cover.

There are 900 green book boxes on the walls along the Seine River. They are known as Les bouquinistes de Paris (booksellers of Paris).

One of my finds, was this beautiful but tragic Paris Match cover of Sharon Tate from August 1969. It's still in the cellophane, but I left it that way.

More about Paris Magazine in a bit…

Another favourite place to get to is the most famous flea market in Paris. It’s at Porte de Clignancourt, officially called Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, but known to everyone as Les Puces (The Fleas).

I used to spend hours looking through the old photographs there, and usually found some charming examples of French life to take back to London. The one above is one of my all-time favourites. It’s so familiar to me now, that I almost feel like I took it myself!

F U T U R O !

It's my dream home! The Futuro House was conceived by Matti Suuronen in 1968 as a portable ski chalet. This can be found just a short walk from the flea market. Its actual location: Marché Dauphine, Rue des Rosiers, 93400 Saint-Ouen, France, if you ever find yourself in the hood.

It was at the Marché Dauphine that I first discovered Paris Magazine, and it became my mission to try and collect the entire series. So far I have 73 issues, and maybe a few I still haven’t logged, from September 1931 to December 1937.

There’s exquisite photography by the likes of Brassaï, André Kertész, and Bill Brandt, plus some classic typography inside.

This one’s a bit worse for wear, but not bad considering it’s 91 years old.

35 years later we have Brigitte Bardot! Wherever you are in Paris, there’s always Brigitte Bardot.

Not forgetting Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin of course. This one’s Mademoiselle Age Tendre magazine, Issue #53, April 1969.

To finish up, the last time I was in Paris I stumbled across the exhibition Super-Heros: l'art d' Alex Ross at the Mona Bismarck American Centre for Art & Culture, a rather nice building, here’s a glimpse through the doorway.