French Military Weddings 2

A further selection of photographs of French military weddings from the First World War. This time, they should wedding groups. The first 'happy couple' - at least - appeared in my earlier post. Possibly, image five as well. I am intrigued by the figure on the right of group 3 (as you look at it). Is that a butcher's apron or is he a craftsmen, perhaps a cooper? When you think about the artful, and often posey, wedding snaps of today, it seems that people were not at all bother about what was is the background back then! Remember to click once, then click again on an image to get a really closeup view.

For those who thought the bride looked masculine, look at her sister - behind to her right - a twin maybe?

What on earth has the boy on the right got round his neck!

Is the man with an apron, on the right, wearing clogs?

The chap on the left is striking an unusual pose. Not the bicycle with acetylene lamp on the right.

French Military Weddings

Here is a selection of French military wedding photographs that I scanned from glass plate negatives. They date from the First World War. A number of things surprise me. How plain the happy couples are, how mature they look and the uniforms and dresses being worn. They remind me of characters taken from silent film comedies - Laurel and Hardy or the Keystone Cops, to mention just two. Extraordinary!

Some of these are taken in the street. Spot the fragments of broken plate to the left of the couple in the first photograph. On the second, a spectator's arm is visible to the left, while a ventilation grill can be seen low down on the building behind couple three - their shoes have just picked up a little mud so perhaps it had rained earlier in the day?.

St Hilaire Cyclist is first past the Post!

And, of course, in those days when you won the local cycle race, you were whipped off to the photographers studio to have your portrait taken. Here, Henri Petit of St Hilaire who won the race by 15 minutes poses with his bike. I note his bicycle only had one brake.

Another French Mystery!

Two more images taken from the large collection of glass plate negatives. I like them very much but am baffled by what they represent. Do any of my French experts have any idea what is going on, please? Taken about 1910, they obviously represent their respective communes, La Selle sur-Le-Beid and St Hilaire les Andresis, but why are they doing it? So far, I have thought of Trade Unions, maybe or a representation of a call to arms? Maybe there is still a festival in France where people do this, still? I would love to know! Thank you. [I have looked again at the photograph below. There is a Republic of France logo in each corner of the flag. Could the woman pictured on the banner be Joan of Arc? Certainly not, Marie Antoinette - unless of course you know otherwise?] [I now wonder if this could be Fete du Travail - Labour Day?]

Commune la Selled sur-Le-Beid (current population 921)

St Hilaire les Andresis (current population 863)

A Mystery of the Grande Guerre

The day before yesterday, the postman staggered up the steps to the house to deliver two very large parcels. Smothered with 'fragile' stickers, they contained dozens of glass plate negatives that show life in, I believe, the Loiret, France between 1910 and 1920. There are some staggering images of townsfolk in costume for some sort of festival, a collection of fascinating full length portraits of young girls in their first Communion dresses - more about these in later posts.

There are also a large number of full-length portraits of soldiers of the Grande Guerre (Great War) dated 1915. I share three of these here:

What I noticed from the individual portraits was that uniforms were very ill-fitting. While I am an expert in British military uniform, I have little knowledge of French uniforms. The first image is causing me some angst. Are these soldiers or young men posing as soldiers? Most of them look quite young, especially the Sergeant  behind the priest. Indeed, the priest looks very young, too. Could this be a post war shot of youths wearing their father's uniforms for some sort of re-enactment? The bearded man, front left, is remarkable in having such young, smooth facial skin. Let me know what you think, please?

Here are two soldiers playing cards with a group of women. If the women weren't quite so mature, I would imagine it to have be taken to be the subject of a souvenir postcard. Any ideas?

This image is sadder. Dated 1920, it shows a veteran who makes wooden souvenirs from what I take to be a nearby battlefield. It reads Souvenir de ma campagne du bois de valamoy 1915 - 1916, but when I put the details in Google there was nothing that matched. Note the names and inscriptions carved in the wood of the souvenirs.

Dressed in Mourning White

This woman, dressed in white, is standing on a long avenue between the graves of a very large cemetery. It is probably somewhere in Europe, possibly France. The shape of the couple of wooden crosses in the far background may be French, but I do not recognise the style of headstone, but one of you may. Please let me know. It must be very hot and I think the black collar worn round the neck of the woman may represent that she is in mourning.