"If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of
your life it stays with you, for Paris
is a moveable feast."
- Ernest Hemingway
The invention of the postcard in 1869 sparked a
communication revolution equal to the birth of email in our own day. The
postcard industry boomed in fashionable Paris,
with Parisians and tourists alike enthralled by this quick, informal way of
sending messages and hand-tinted photographs of the city they loved. At the
turn of the century, France
was producing one million cartes postales
a day.
Castle in the Air invites you to view a Paris captured at the height of this golden
age. Berkeley
collector Leonard Pitt shares over 70 postcards showing life in the city's boulevards,
streets, shops, dance halls, and cafés. Pitt's accompanying notes take viewers
on the ultimate nostalgia trip, revealing social and architectural details of a
Paris that has,
for the most part, vanished.
Leonard Pitt is the bestselling author of Walks Through Lost Paris, Paris Postcards: The Golden Age, and the
forthcoming Paris: A Journey Through Time.
He will give a talk and book signing at the Paris
Captured opening reception the evening of April 7.
Pictured above are three postcards from Paris Captured (left to right): Rue Mouffetard, Le Moulin Rouge, and Rouelle Sourdis et Rue de Beauce. The image at the top of the page is Le Pont des Arts.
"A Studio for the Imagination," Castle in the Air's
shop and classroom have inspired local and visiting artists since 2001. Castle
in the Air's new gallery in the upstairs loft quite literally takes the
inspiration to new heights and provides a venue to showcase current and historical
works.
Gallery open 12 - 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, closed Sunday
Reception, book signing, and illustrated talk by Leonard Pitt
Wednesday, April 7, 6 p.m.
Castle in the Air, 1805 Fourth Street, Berkeley,
Calif. 94710
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