Then and Now: Rue du Vieux Colombier and the Eglise Saint-Sulpice, Paris

1906-2009

Original Photo: "L'église Saint-Sulpice vue de la rue du Vieux-Colombier. Paris (VIème arr.), 1906." 1906. Collection Roger-Viollet. Parisenimages.fr. Parisienne de Photographie. 1 May 2009.

Then and Now: Boulevard Raspail north of rue de Vaugirard, Paris

c. 1900-2009

Original photo: "ND-3722 Res." Collection ND/Roger-Viollet. Parisenimages.fr. Parisienne de Photographie. 20 Mar. 2009. http://www.parisenimages.fr/Export450/14000/13712-4.jpg

Then and Now: Librairie Gilbert Joseph, 30 boulevard St-Michel, Paris

c. 1930-2009

The Gilbert Joseph bookstore first moved to the boulevard St-Michel in 1929, and despite its major expansion since then, has continuously occupied its original building. As the main bookstore has moved further up the avenue, the store at no. 30 is now a separate stationery section.

Source: http://www.gibertjoseph.com/GIBERT/fr/help/Help.aspx?id=contact3&group=7
Original Photo: "HRL-520986." Collection Albert Harlingue/Roger-Viollet. Parisenimages.fr. Parisienne de Photographie. 19 Feb. 2009. http://www.parisenimages.fr/Export450/3000/2001-15.jpg

Then and Now: Quai des Grands Augustins by rue Gît-le-cœur, Paris

c. 1939-2009

The banks of today's Latin Quarter are just as populated with bookstalls as they were 70 years ago. Just visible on the right side of the photo is the beginning of rue Gît-le-cœur, one of the many locales frequented by André Breton, Max Ernst, and other members of Paris' Surrealist community in the early 30s, as recounted by the Czech Surrealist author Vitězslav Nezval in his charming and aptly-titled memoir, Rue Gît-le-cœur.

Original Photo: "RV-82988." 1939. Collection Roger-Viollet. Parisenimages.fr. Parisienne de Photographie. 15 Feb. 2009. http://www.parisenimages.fr/Export450/18000/17793-2.jpg

Then and Now: Rue de Fleurus towards Rue d'Assas, Paris

1944-2009

La Rue de Fleurus runs out of the western edge of the Jardin du Luxembourg and is home in part to the Alliance Française and the many students that attend its courses. It's hard to picture the quiet street today as having at one point been the front line of one of mankind's most brutal wars. Equally stunning is the fact that all of the buildings in the photo survived the events pictured.

Original Photo: "ND-166013." 1944. Collection Roger-Viollet. Parisenimages.fr. Parisienne de Photographie. 13 Jan. 2009. http://www.parisenimages.fr/Export450/3000/2164-6.jpg