La Vie Parisienne
Related Paris - magazine - 1800s
from La Vie Parisienne (1919)
La Vie Parisienne (magazine)
There was considerably more censorship of magazines that admitted their purpose was titillation, but La Vie Parisienne, founded in 1863 and relaunched just before World War I, managed to mix discreet nudes with spicy fiction and humor and still gain widespread acceptance because it was reasonably sophisticated, a quality nearly as respected in France as art. --Dian Hanson via http://www.taschen.de/pages/en/excerpts/sex/show/5/118.htm [Jul 2005]
'La Vie Parisienne' was one of the more famous and well-known of specifically Parisienne magazines. Originally intended as a guide to the privileged social and artistic life in the French capital, it soon evolved into a mildly risqué publication in which illustrations of scantily clad damsels abounded. It was all done in very good taste though it had more than its fair share of detractors. General Pershing for one is said to have personally warned American servicemen against purchasing the magazine - for little good that would have done. 'La Vie Parisienne' was also banned in certain countries such as neighboring Belgium for instance, though in war-time it appeared that such silly regulations were not always adhered to.
The magazine was very popular and spawned a number of pre-war imitators, such as 'Le Sourire', 'Le Rire', 'Le Regiment', 'Fantasio' and others. As a source of erotica, 'la Vie Parisienne' was by far overshadowed by its (foreign) reputation. A reputation that was certainly undeserved, for apart from some slightly revealing drawings of lightly clad ladies or the occasional tastefully executed art-nouveau nude illustration, the magazine was not much more than a high class literary humor magazine. Supposedly infamous for its private advertisements, these small personal ads were seldom much more than classic lonely-hearts or marriage-seeking personals. The French war-time practice of 'Marraines' (Godmothers) 'adopting' soldiers at the front was in the eyes of some cause for potential scandalous behavior. 'La Vie Parinsienne' did indeed carry a disproportionately large number of such requests from lonely soldiers, several pages being regularly devoted to Allied soldiers' search for a French 'Marraine'. --http://www.greatwardifferent.com/Great_War/Paris_at_War/La_Vie_Parisienne_01.htm [Jul 2005]
see also: erotica - Paris - 1863
La Vie Parisienne (2001) - Richard Manton
La Vie Parisienne (2001) - Richard Manton [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
These extracts represent the cream of banned fiction from La Vie Parisienne: passionate nymphs in exclusive finishing schools, shuttered rooms of lesbian “amourettes,” and the whip-wielding jealousies of circus girls. The imperious demands of masters and mistresses are matched only by the sly and perverse sensuality of the girls who serve them.
Richard Manton is the author of many books written in the style of the Victorian era, including Bombay Bound, Deep South, and La Vie Parisienne. He is an expert on literature from that time period, with a focus on Charles Carrington, publisher and author (published under various names and the possible author of Suburban Souls), who was exiled by the British Government. He is the editor of The Victorian Imagination, published by Grove Press (1984) which includes his essay, Charles Carrington - The Man and His Books. Manton currenly lives in England.