No, this is not a nostalgic book. It invites you to take a gentle journey into the past… With “Authentically Haute-Marne in the countryside”, Bruno Théveny signs his 24e book. The latter is published by Liralest. Through some 200 richly illustrated pages, it looks back on life in the countryside in Haute-Marne at the dawn of the 20th century.
It's ultimately not that old. And yet. The images hark back to an era that seems ageless. Everything is so different between today and the way we lived at the beginning of the 20th century.
More than a century has passed, everything has changed. But Haute-Marne remains Haute-Marne, it is rural in essence. And it is this rurality, this local countryside that Bruno Théveny highlights in his latest work which has just been published by Liralest.
This is his 24e book. It is thus dedicated to the Haute-Marne of yesteryear. His strong point? It is these dozens of illustrations or other photographs that say so much about the way in which the Haut-Marnais lived in the past. Bruno Théveny explains it well in his foreword. “All the photos that we present here bear witness to this time, not so long ago, but totally ignored and little known by younger generations, when rurality was in the majority until the beginning of the 20th century. It represented 56% of the French population in 1910. However, it is there, within these villages, these provinces that all our roots lie and, just as it is reassuring to know who our relatives were. ancestors and in which regions they lived, likewise it is fascinating to know their mode of existence, their professions, their daily work, their distractions, their happiness and their sorrows, in short, their life”writes Bruno Théveny. Everything is said. And all this life of yesteryear unfolds over the course of 200 pages.
Fifteen chapters to describe the life of yesteryear in the countryside
Agriculture in the 20th century, life on the farm, life in the fields, fairs and markets, milk and butter, harvest time and the Haut-Marne vineyards, professions, education at a good school, specialized agricultural and housekeeping schools, turn roundabouts!, marriage and various processions, the country priest: between priesthood and photography, charismatic and popular characters, the canal from the Marne to the Saône and transport are the 15 chapters which make up the work which gives pride of place to illustration. Because, as everyone knows, Bruno Théveny is passionate about old postcards and has been for a long time. “I started buying old postcards around 20-25 years old”smiles Bruno Théveny, also passionate about comics.
Tribute to Bruno Pernot
This work is also an opportunity for the author to pay a vibrant tribute to Bruno Pernot, “disappeared too quickly” who was also a fan of old postcards. “We had discussed this theme (the countryside of the past) together on many occasions. This book is also a bit his own thanks to the magnificent illustrations of rural life that he had accumulated and which he wanted to share.explains Bruno Théveny.
“Formerly Haute-Marne in the countryside” is prefaced by Anne-Marie Nédélec, senator who seems to have appreciated the work. “This society has benchmarks, strong values, respect for work, knowledge and authority, a sense of duty, a sense of family and celebration too”writes Anne-Marie Nédélec, hoping that “this reading will give you food for thought, without any nostalgia”she concludes. Bruno Théveny's book is full of astonishing illustrations, like these portraits of popular characters like Father Faillières, a newspaper delivery man but also a viper hunter in Humes, like Grandclerc, the blacksmith from Montlandon or even Paul- Sigisbert Thérion, the atypical apothecary of the Place du Centenaire in Langres without forgetting the illustrious bear trainer of Hortes immortalized by Lucien Merger. There is no doubt that many Haut-Marne residents will love to delve into this evocation of life in Haute-Marne in the past, as one digs a furrow to find one's roots.
C. C.
