Week 9: Bargains at the world's biggest shop

100 years ago this week: Week 9

Some tempting promotions were on offer a century ago at the Palais de la Nouveauté, an eccentric and eclectic store that marketed itself as the world's largest. If most of the city's other 'grands magasins' are today still in operation, this curiously positioned 'palace' was already in decline in 1921.  

Read on to find some bargains.

Week 8: Tanneguy Archdeacon: the prodigal son and the 'accidental' school shooting

100 years ago this week: Week 8

What caused a troubled teenager to kill the cook at his college, and why was the incident hushed up?

Read on for the full story.

Week 7: the deaf, the dumb and the apache

100 years ago this week: Week 7

What happened when a deaf musician met a dumb stranger late at night on the streets of Paris?

Read on to find out more.

Week 6: Fanny Ward, the forgetful - and forgotten - American film star

100 years ago this week: Week 6

The story of a silent film star who couldn't help making a lot of noise.

Read on to find out more.

Week 5: The Moulin...Bleu?

100 years ago this week: Week 5

Everybody knows the Moulin Rouge, but did you know that in the 1920s and 30s a rival with a very similar name was in operation not 200 metres away? I didn't until I saw an advert in a Paris paper from 1921...

Read on to find out more.

Week 4: The Unknown Soldier is placed in the tomb

100 years ago this week: Week 4

A poignant moment in history, overshadowed on the front pages by a portent of further conflict.

Read on to discover the fourth newspaper extract in this series.

Week 3: A baby falls from the sky

100 years ago this week: Week 3

A snapshot of distress and desperation that could have come from a Zola novel or Ken Loach film, but one in which I'd like to imagine a happy ending.

Read on to discover the third snippet in this series.

Week 2: A big noise at “Père Tranquille”

100 years ago this week: Week 2

Thanks for all your kind messages after the first post last week. It's good to be back and good to know that people are still reading! Here's week 2!

 

A not so souper evening....

100 years ago this week

A new year, a new resolution. Invisible Paris has certainly lived up to its name over the last couple of years, but it feels like a time when it would be good for all of us to be a little more visible. Exploring, wandering, researching - hell, even getting outside the house and inside other buildings – has been more complicated than we could have ever imagined in the past year, but can we still look at the unusual and uncelebrated sides of Paris in other ways?