I am almost at the end of sorting out packets of negatives found at a 'car boot', the English equivalent of the flea market. One packet appears to be a record of a visit to La Ferté-Macé, a town in Normandy taken in the 1930's judging by the car in the foreground of the hotel car park which is a Citroen C4 made between 1928-1932 and a luxury model at the time. The photos were developed in Bagnoles de la l'Orne for a Mr or Mrs Legendre, who apparently came from Carrouges. Legendre is a surname common in the area dating back to the 14th Century. If voting or census records are available, it may be possible to identify candidates of the right age and means to afford the expensive hobby of photography and lifestyle recorded in these images.
The hotel Du Grand Turc which features in three pictures of the precious roll of 12, has now been turned into a cultural arts centre but back in the 1930's it was renowned for its tripe à la mode Fertoise; the stomachs and feet of cattle cooked in a cider stew on a hazelnut skewer. Shops in the town still sell these tripe brochettes. Locals say the best time to eat them are in Autumn when the apples have the most flavour.
There are many hotels Du Grand Turc in France because when the French king Francis I was at war with the king of Spain Charles V in the Italian war of 1536–1538 Francis formed an alliance with the Sultan of Turkey so many towns gave their inns the name of 'Grand Turk' to honour the Sultan. The inn sign, a cooking pot, is the emblem of the Janissaries, a Turkish infantry corps.
In 1911 Gaston Meillon, whose father ran the Hôtel de Normandie on Rue de la Teinture, took over the Grand-Turc and ran the establishment with his wife for 49 years. The couple built a new wing to increase capacity from six to thirty rooms. The Turc's culinary reputation was made by Mrs. Meillon who took care of the daily routine while her husband was frequently kept away by his duties as mayor and local senator. During the Nazi occupation in WW2 he was relieved of his political roles and joined the resistance. Many banquets, baptisms and communions took place there and its cellar contained over 33,000 bottles of fine wines and rare vintages.
In the town square near what is now Le Cave Chimay, Mr or Ms Legendre stopped to take two photos of the Romano-Byzantine church Notre-Dame-de-l'Assumption. La Ferté Mace means a fort (or castle) that belongs to Mace (or Massey). A Norman knight called Mace fought in the Battle of Hastings with William the Conquerer. He had several sons and his was the only French noble family who owned land in Normandy, which was a Norse occupied territory of France. The Mace/Massey descendants were respected in England but their ancestors in France were more feared for their martial power than respected for their nobility. Typically a church was built as people settled under the protection of the Mace castle. The Mace castle was completely destroyed in the 15th Century and stood in what is now is named Neustadt-am-Rübenberge Square but was then called Castle Square. With the growth of the town and its textile industries, a grander church was desired. A new church was designed in Neo-Gothic style by architect François Liger in 1852. Although relatively modern, the church is admired for its twin 60 metre spires, 16 bells, decorative mosaics and stained glass. The choir of the 11th Century Romanesque church remains standing next door. Tours are given May to August on Thursdays at 2:30 p.m.
There are photos of a lake with a bridge crossing which were taken at the thermal spa, the Casino in nearby Bagnoles de l'Orne which is major attraction of the area. The Lac de Bagnoles was created in 1611 to provide water to a large iron foundry located in the middle of the forest and it covered an area of 17 acres, so double its current size. In 1811 there was a terrible storm over Bagnoles, the lake flooded and the dam and the foundry were destroyed. As it no longer had any economic use, the lake gradually became a leisure asset for the town. In 1881 the town became connected to Paris by the railway and hotels began to appear on the banks of the lake including the Grand Hôtel creating what is now called the Belle Epoque Quarter, a historic boulevard lined with sumptuous residences of architectural uniformity.
As it was distant from the front lines, in World War One because of its relative safety the area was active with munitions production but became inundated with injured soldiers and civilian refugees. When food shortages took hold there was much tension between them and the locals and there were strikes by munitions workers as a result. A famous but unwilling visitor to La Ferte Mace was the American poet E. E. Cummings who was imprisoned for three months in a former seminary (which had closed in 1905 after the separation of Church and State) that now served as a detention centre. In this 'Depot de Triage' the political, military and criminal prisoners were kept together and only segregated by gender until their fate could be decided by the judicial authorities who only visited every four months. Cummings was there from September to December 1917 and recalled this experience in his first book, the autobiographical novel 'The Enormous Room' published in 1922. Later on the buildings were practically abandoned except when they temporarily housed Spanish refugees from the Civil War and then during WW2 two German regiments and a command post was stationed there.
After the 'Great War' American billionaire Frank Jay Gould fell in love with Bagnoles. An heir to railway fortune he decided to live here and began to develop the resort to suit his rich friends. In the 'Roaring Twenties' the season in Bagnoles was filled with classical music concerts, horse racing at the Hippodrome, golf tournaments and other leisure pursuits of the upper classes. The demand for entertainment was high and so a second casino was built. The Casino du Lac was built in 1927 by the renowned architect Auguste Bluysen.
One significant visitor who came to Bagnoles to cure his phlebitis met a tragic end in there in 1937. The film and lens resolution isn't quite enough to read the wall posters or the newspapers of the people sitting by the lake for any sign of the political storm clouds brewing over Europe but it would be miraculous if these photos were taken when Carlo Rosselli, the prominent Italian socialist intellectual and activist was staying there. Trained as an economist, his ideas of a 'Liberal Socialism' may have irked the Italian Marxists but he was inspired by the British Labour Party. From a wealthy family, he fought in the Spanish Civil War for the Republicans and funded opposition to Mussolini and Hitler. On June 9th, after dropping off their sister at the train station, he and his brother Nello - a historian and activist - were flagged down by a pair of broken-down motorists on the road between Alençon and Bagnoles-de-l'Orne. The men came up to the Rosselli's car then stabbed and shot them, dumping their bodies in the woods and stealing the car. When eventually caught, the murderers were linked to the French right-wing terrorists 'the Cagoule' and likely acting on the orders of Mussolini. A significant monument to both men was erected on the place of their murder in 1942.
There are other general views which are hard to identify, I suspect the wooded area is the park of La Roche-Bagnoles Castle which is open to the public. This arboretum was created during the castle's construction in 1855. The first owner Madame Goupil wanted a special garden and had 140 specimen trees brought from all over the world.
There is film on the French defence picture archive which shows the liberation of La Ferté-Macé by the Americans on 8th June in 1944. It is possible that Ms/Mr Legendre is in the crowds, the joy of the people filling the GI's canteens with wine is palpable and the devastation very evident. Perhaps US Army cameraman thought shots of the town square and church would be recognisable to many French viewers. I have written to the Marie to ask if there is somewhere useful I can deposit these negatives.
Bordered by the Andaines forest, belonging to the Normandy Maine Regional Natural Park, the town is the ideal setting for "green" stays. Beyond that, La Ferté-Macé has, within its walls, a toy museum, a public garden specialising in shade plants and a leisure center of more than sixty hectares. For over 50 years on the first weekend in September there is La Grande Braderie in the town centre. It's a huge jumble sale, flea market, an art and local produce market and a wine fair, much to the delight of bargain-hunters. I wonder how many packets of unwanted negatives and photo albums will end up there.
