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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School Department of French and Francophone Studies MAPPING MODERNITY: REPRESENTATIONS OF PARIS IN THE EARLY THIRD REPUBLIC, 1870-1900 A Thesis in French by Kory Ernest Olson 2006 Kory Ernest Olson Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2006 ii The thesis of Kory Ernest Olson was reviewed and approved* by the following: Willa Z. Silverman Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies and Jewish Studies Thesis Advisor Chair of Committee Deryck Holdsworth Professor of Geography Kathryn M. Grossman Professor of French and Francophone Studies Monique Yaari Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies Thomas A. Hale Liberal Arts Professor of African, French, and Comparative Literature Head of the Department of French and Francophone Studies *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School iii ABSTRACT Many French politicians and academics believed that a lack of map-reading skills contributed to France’s defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. Following this loss, the introduction of geography into the national educational curriculum changed how maps were used and understood in the early Third Republic. Used widely by travel guidebook authors and by government officials administering the city prior to 1870, maps took on an additional role during the Third Republic: through visual representation they helped reaffirm the republic’s desire for a common national identity. This identity, based on the modernity and stability of the new regime, helped a volatile France redefine itself and its capital city. This dissertation is a study of France’s view of Paris and of how the government and publishers wished to portray its capital city to the world. This study aims to define how France promoted Paris as a modern, stable capital city, and how the government used maps as instruments of power associated with the emergence of a more confident Republic. Overreaching concepts in the study are the notions of map discourse (color, text, shapes, and symbols), modernity, and republicanism. Though guidebook discourse has been studied in detail, the examination of maps as a valid tool for disseminating the government’s message has been only summarily treated. Studies in this area address primarily French travel or tourism, focusing mainly on the texts supporting these maps, such as travel guides. Among the maps this study examines are those published by the city of Paris and its government agencies, along with maps from the Guide Joanne travel guidebook series. To explore the background of these maps, I use approaches and methods in cultural history, but also rely on semiotics and historiography. iv The study’s importance lies in multiple definitions of modernity and in how those definitions were used to promote the French capital. 1870 Paris was a damaged city, one prone to rebellion, and the French wished to counter this notion. Documenting the city as calm and republican on maps was one way to do just that. As the Third Republic continued, stability became the norm. Multiple Expositions Universelles served not only as demonstrations of national pride, but also as proof that Paris had recovered from both military defeat and internal strife with official and tourist guide map discourse helping to promulgate this message. Furthermore, as the French Third Republic became more confident in its ability to govern Paris, and France, and the French became better map readers, its discourse adapted. The examination of maps from the early Third Republic elucidates the changing nature of map use during this period as well as French ability to identify with the new government. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................... vii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................... ix Introduction: Formalizing City Space: Cartography, Ideology, and the French Third Republic................................................................................................................................ 1 The Question of Modernity ...................................................................................... 4 Cartography as Print Culture Studies....................................................................... 7 Map Discourse ............................................................................................................ 13 Map Image Analysis.................................................................................................... 19 Paris in Maps ............................................................................................................... 21 Maps of Paris as French Cultural History............................................................... 23 Overview of Dissertation........................................................................................... 25 Conclusion: .................................................................................................................. 29 Chapter 1 Creating Map Readers: The Rise of Geography and Cartography in Nineteenth-Century France............................................................................................... 32 Geography’s Appeal ................................................................................................... 35 Geography in the Education System Prior to the Third Republic ...................... 38 A Turning Point? ........................................................................................................ 41 The Appearance of the Classroom Map.................................................................. 45 A New French Geography ........................................................................................ 49 A Geography for Colonization................................................................................. 54 History of Cartography as a History of Society...................................................... 56 Map Color.................................................................................................................... 59 Improved Color Techniques..................................................................................... 63 Chapter 2 Government Mapping: Making Paris Republican .............................................. 69 The Republic Begins : The Plan général de la ville de Paris (1870)............................ 73 Celebrating the Republic: Paris en 1889 .................................................................. 76 Defending the Capital: The Carte d’état-major au 1/50 000 (1906)........................ 83 Color ............................................................................................................................. 86 Shapes and Symbols ................................................................................................... 103 Map Text...................................................................................................................... 118 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 127 Chapter 3 Guiding the Visitor: Mapping Tourist Paris ........................................................ 130 Creating the Nineteenth-Century Tourist ............................................................... 136 Representing City Space in Guidebooks ................................................................. 140 vi Creating and Ranking Tourist Space........................................................................ 145 Visiting the New Republic: Paris Illustré 1870 ......................................................... 150 Les Guides Joanne........................................................................................................... 151 Visiting the Centennial: Paris par Paul Joanne 1889 ................................................. 154 Celebrating the Millennium: Paris 1900 ................................................................... 157 Color ............................................................................................................................. 160 Shapes and Symbols ................................................................................................... 172 Map Text...................................................................................................................... 182 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 191 Chapter 4 The Silence of Maps................................................................................................ 195 Map Silence.................................................................................................................. 197 “Deliberate” Silences.................................................................................................. 204 Silencing Monumental Paris...................................................................................... 212 “Unconscious” Silence............................................................................................... 217 Silence Through Standardization.............................................................................. 219 Legend Silence............................................................................................................