relive the history of the department through 300 old postcards
After Toulouse then the Tarn, place in “Haute-Garonne of yesteryear”. Journalist and editor Joëlle Porcher is releasing this third book, to bring the department’s history to life. More than 300 old postcards bear witness to the great era of Haute-Garonne.
The adventure began more than ten years ago for the journalist and editor, Joëlle Porcher, with the writing of the book Toulouse d’antan. The idea of this work is to revive, through more than 300 old postcards, the history of the city between the 1800s and the First World War.
This journalist has collaborated, among others, with the Dépêche du Midi, Toulouse Mag and Tout Toulouse. “I really liked doing history subjects.“, so when she was offered to write this book, she immediately accepted.
“VSI liked it a lot, because the 1900s interest me enormously. At that time, everything moved and changed: shops, trams, stations… There was also a change in mentality, where women found more space in society.“, says Joëlle Porcher.
The book is made up of old postcards provided by HC Edition, thanks to Olivier Bouze who “a huge collection“. Together, the journalist and the editors choose the photos. “I had 300 photocopies of thumbtacked postcards in my dining room, I won’t tell you how it was at home“, recalls the journalist, laughing.
Then the adventure is renewed a few years later with Tarn of yesteryearand in 2022 for Haute Garonne of yesteryear, with an emphasis on Toulouse and its department stores, its great cafés, without forgetting the novelties of aviation and the first flights of Louis Blériot.
But there is also Luchon and its development of hydrotherapy, the “Biarritz at the time” as Joëlle likes to call it. Fronton, the Lauraguais, “this granary, but also this very rural town and hierarchical“.
It took him six months to tell the story of Haute-Garonne during the Belle Époque. “It amuses me a lot this back and forth between the past and the present. It’s also very interesting, it helps to understand the city’s urban planning and current projects.“, she confides.
Obviously, in all these postcards, some will receive Joëlle. “I have favorite photos, such as market photos or those of small trades. For example, the milkmaid who comes to deposit the milk on the edge of the windows.“
What also pleases the editor is the feedback that some readers can give her. “I exchange a lot with them, there are even some who give me additional information. I met a man passionate about Toulouse and its department stores, who told me many stories that I didn’t know. I used it for this new book. I have a lot of fun learning things I didn’t know“, says Joëlle Porcher.
If like her you have this nostalgic side and like to look in the rear view mirror, this book will satisfy you.
“La Haute-Garonne d’antan” was published on October 27, 2022 by Éditions Hevé Chopin.