Books. “The people I met are fascinated by Agen”

You are already the author of two volumes in this series “Proud to be Agenais”, was it easy to find material for a third edition?

I kept the same framework, that is to say 100% Agen archive photos but without chronology or thematic plan. This means that one can wander through the pages at random, pecking away. We can have a photo from 1905 facing another from 1955.

How did you work for this new issue?

I have a lot of photos. I've been collecting them for eight years. Some are real “cold cases” (term which designates unresolved legal cases). I took out the boxes of images and took my pilgrim's staff back from the departmental archives. I also have a personal library with commercial literature and old telephone directories. All this allows me to carry out a real police investigation for each photo. For example, I go there to see if a balcony is still there, I work on old plans from the time.

The material seems almost endless regarding Agen…

In any case, we are planning to produce several volumes. Maybe one day I'll consider doing a special issue on the 1970s because I have a huge background on that era. But for the moment, the cursor of the first three volumes, we focus on a period from 1890 to 1960.

There is a nod to Le Petit Bleu, which is celebrating its 110th anniversary…

Yes obviously, it's a special year. I come back to this story over six pages. This book is also a link between the newspaper and its readers. It’s an anthology, a best of what could have been published in Le Petit Bleu. There is a strong bond between the newspaper and its readers and this work is proof of it.

Should we expect a lot of surprises in the years to come?

I can give an example. I have a photograph of an elephant crossing the town center of Agen but I am still looking for elements to tell this story or prove that it was a circus that was passing through. There are difficult times to document photographs, particularly times of global conflict.

What is this Agenese pride for you?

I am passionate about Agen. The people I met are fascinated by this city. There is a phenomenon of appropriation, of identification.