Win a copy of Paris Postcards

Leonard Pitt's beautiful new book Paris Postcards is photographed among some late 19th-century and early 20th-century Paris postcards.

Some pages inside Paris Postcards.

If you love Paris, you'll be enchanted by Paris Postcards! Pitt's book (Counterpoint Press, Berkeley) showcases unusual and historical postcards from his personal collection. Invented in the 19th-century, postcards changed the way travelers communicated. In the late 19th-century and early 20th-century, France produced a million postcards a day. Collectors started hoarding the unique and diverse images; today thousands of vintage postcards are for sale at every flea market in France.

The postcards featured in Pitt's book depict little slices of French history, along with colourful or witty messages to friends and family back home. Some cards are sepia photographs; others are hand-tinted. The postcards reflect changing views of the city's arrondisements, as well as lively scenes from cafe and night life.

Based in Berkeley, Calif., Leonard Pitt is not only an author, but an actor. His previous books include Walks through Lost Paris and Paris: Un Voyage dans le Temps. Pitt also penned A Small Moment of Great Illumination about the 17th-century Irish healer Valentine Greatrakes.

For your chance to win a copy of Paris Postcards, leave a comment about your most memorable experience in the City of Light. The winning name will be drawn from le chapeau on Friday, Nov. 20th. Bonne chance!

The Paris Opera.

Palais de Justice.

Comments

[Marci Wiesen]

I was a single mom with two little kids back when. My friend and I vowed we would take our tax returns and visit Paris. Her husband was going to school there. Oma took care of the kids, and there we went. On a shoestring !!! I remember savoring a few minutes of watching dinner cruises floating by on the Seine. I, to this day, remember the sound of glasses tinkling, and music playing and people laughing. I made a wish - that someday I could do that. My wish came true when my husband and I went on a dinner cruise in Paris a few years ago!

[Lindsey]

I studied abroad in Paris and lived at the Cité Universitaire. My first day there I was sitting out in the garden with my laptop trying to get online to send an email when I saw a guy on his laptop across the way. I approached him and asked for the wifi password, and we chit-chatted for a bit. Finally he was like, "We're in Paris! Why are we on our laptops?! Let's go get lost in Paris!" We ended up hanging out the whole night, getting off at a random Metro station, getting drinks, walking along les quais de la Seine, getting lost walking back to the Cité U after having missed the last metro...talking and laughing the whole time, enjoying each other's company.

That was 2 years ago... we're engaged now :)

[Anne]

Too many to enumerate but one that really sticks is riding the bus and watching block after block at the Hausmannian buildings -- white, carved, filigreed in wrought iron, posts on the sidewalk to keep the cars at bay, rattan cafe chairs and tables with solid bases, motorcyles going pell mell, flowers exploding fron window boxes and neighborhood florists, people walking down the sidewalk with umbrellas, shopping caddies, baguettes, and tiny dogs.

[Carol]

Seeing Paris for the first time with my daughter Belinda, siting in a little cafe watching people walk through the park, a young couple sitting on a bench, another couple walking past in an obvious hurry to get somewhere, obviously very in love, a gay couple walk slowly arm in arm seeming to be going nowhere in particular. We were not there with our loved ones, but we saw love everywhere, an wonderful openness that you do not always see in other cities and yes friendliness. I was told the French were rude and would not be bothered with a foreigner who did not speak their language. This was far from true, although my daughter speaks French I do not, but this was never an issue

[Kim]

Sitting in a cafe having lunch one Sunday with my husband, the woman next to me noticed we were speaking English and started chatting with us, in English. She was French. She admitted she hadn't spoken English in 30 years. She had been married to an American and he had died many years ago. As we were finishing our meal, something told me to ask her if she wouldn't mind exchanging phone numbers. I just had this feeling I should see her again. She was happy to and when we were leaving told me she know when she awoke that morning, something very nice was going to happen to her that day. I realized that something nice had happened to me that very moment. That was a year ago and we have become wonderful friends. By the way, she just turned 90 in October, and she is one of the most amazing people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing! I will treasure the memories of the time we have spent together.

[Laume]

Most memorable - that's a tough one. Having tea with a lovely Tara of course was memorable. Ranking up there - my first visit to the Musee D'Orsay, up to the top floor, surrounded by my beloved Impressionists, I almost burst into tears. Being mistaken for a local a few times, that was pretty fun. (of course I totally blew my cover the moment I opened my mouth! LOL). Tea at Laduree was lovely.

[Michelle French]

My name probably prompted me to be a Francophile, and I longed to see Paris the entire time I was growing up in the Southeast of the US. For years I kept waiting, hoping to share the experience someone special. Time went by and I was 39. I decided that I would not turn 40 without going to Paris, even though I had to go alone. When I arrived, my birthday and "40" were on banners throughout Paris. It seems that my 40th birthday and Johnny Hallyday's 40th anniversary concert were the same day. So 500,000 people showed up to help me celebrate and I have a double CD to commemorate the occasion.

[BJ Lantz]

So many memories spread across so many (and yet not enough) trips... Dining w/my husband in a little place on Ile St. Louis and ending up pushing tables together with 2 other individual tables of Americans and closing the place down...then meeting up with all of them again the next night... Giggling with my mother in the back of taxis all over Paris... Walking 19 miles one day on a solo trip just looking at everything.... Having our birthday dinner in the Eiffel Tower (hubby & I have same b-day) and them bringing us a complimentary dessert with a candle even though the only time I had mentioned the special day was when I made the reservation months before.... Climbing to the top of Notre Dame alone on a freezing cold December morning with the bells ringing and being the first visitor of the day to emerge at the very top.... I could go on and on...

[Margaret Smith]

My favourite memory of Paris - emerging from the spiral staircase onto the top floor of Sainte Chapelle - more breathtakingly beautiful than the grandest cathedrals.

[Kathleen Howard]

My first trip to Paris in 87 with a friend, to stay with a niece of mine who was on work experience from Ireland for 6 months.We slept on a mattress on her bedroom floor in Nation, bought our croissants from the local boulangerie each morning and travelled around on the metro to the sights of Paris for the week!A dream come true,visited Versailles too and we have returned over the years to Giverney,Disneyland and the City itself but there is still lots more i need to see and savour!In the meantime Paris Postcards would keep me sane!

[Gail Lannum]

There are so many good memories. The most stunning was on the first trip. Still in the cab from the airport we rounded a corner and there stood Notre Dame, in all her glory across the Seine. I squealed. I'm sure the cab driver thought I was an idiot...but it was so magnificent.

BTW...just read your most recent post. My husband and I also got married in Santa Fe, out in the desert north of the city. We are heading to Paris on December 1st for our 10 year wedding anniversay.

[Di]

Most memorable ... hmmm, that would surely be wandering the streets of Paris with this woman called Tara, coming across a movie set, watching as she bought the most delightful old 'autograph' book ... book of friends, eating a lovely lunch some place she liked, and being introduced to the magical bookshop near Notre Dame. Bookshops always feature highly on my 'most memorable experiences' list. Thank you for the Shakespeare and Company bookshop. A million thank yous.
xx

[belinda manley]

Walking around the city with a book -Tea in the City-finding tea shops and tea rooms. Purchasing teas from lovely lady at THE' O'Dor - she let me smell all kinds from her georgous green tins and told the stories behind the blends.

[Melissa]

ONE of my most memorable experiences happened on the day of our departure from Paris after living there for 3 months. We had to catch an early a.m. flight from CDG, and so my husband went to take our sweet pug for a morning walk (pre-flight) and picked up croissants. They were so hot and delicious - seriously, the best croissant I've ever eaten. And this was the perfect finale to an incredible stay.

[Anna R]

i was seven. i had a nasty nosebleed at the train station. the bathroom stalls were coin-operated but we had no french money. the attendant would not open one of the doors so i could get some paper. i have not been back to paris since.

[Gena]

My one and only trip to Paris so far was too short! We stayed at the Napoleon Hotel which was beautifully furnished but the beds were hard! I did, thanks to you Tara, get to go to a flea market in May in which I picked up some wonderful trinkets.
I found the Parisians friendly for the most part. Very unlike what we Americans hear in the U.S. I think most people no matter where you are treat you nicely if you smile, be polite, and make an effort. I hope that not too much time passes before I get to go again and spend more time there and the rest of France. Merci Tara for a wonderful blog and utterly breathtaking photos.

[Helen]

I am sorry to say that my Paris experience is limited to Orly Airport. I never have made it out of the airport. On the way back from Lucerne one time, I passed an enjoyable afternoon with a lawyer from Geneva who happened to sit down next to me. He informed me I had just spent a week in a dull city and that all the fun was in Geneva. I speak a little French, he spoke a little English, and I was appropriately dazzled.

Since I was housewife traveling alone with a family waiting back here, there was no possibility to roam around Paris.

When I returned home, there had been a huge flood in our basement when a pipe broke and nobody discovered it for days. I spent my first days back with a mop and a bucket on wheels thinking about Orly airport as I mopped. Cinderella was clearly not at the ball!

I have been collecting books by or about Proust, Colette, Anais Nin and for 30 years. I am a huge fan of French culture but have not been able to make a trip to Paris.

Toujours...une Francophile. It would be nice to get out of the airport someday!

[Andi]

I have so many fond memories of Paris. I am lucky enough to go once or twice a year. And each time I fall in love over and over again. I think one my my favorite things to do is eating breakfast in a cafe and people watching. My last fond memory was from my trip in May. My husband and I went to 58 Tour Eiffel. It had been 20 years since I had been on the tower and even longer for my husband, so it was lovely to visit together and have a wonderful meal.

[Anneli W]

Oh, my one and only time (so far) in Paris was in January this yerar. I was at a concert and saw my idol Patrick Juvet for the first time ever - he has been my idol for 30 years...
So it seems it can only happen in Paris :-) Just lovely !!

Best regards from Anneli in Sweden - who really likes your blog !

[bettyann]

Coming to Paris 23 and alone..staying in a tiny hotel, old elevator, wonderful breakfast..hot chocolate, fresh croissants..walking all over Paris..fire-eaters and sword swallowers on the Left Bank..

[Stephanie]

I have only been to Paris one time...in 1980. I loved the George Pompedou center that had just recently opened, we walked along the Seine from Notre Dame. Mr R and I did not have much money, we stayed in a little pension and did not pay the extra amount for a bath, I took a bath anyway and when Mr R went into the bathroom the knobs had been taken off the tub :)

x..x
s

[Judith Metz]

My friend and I (both in our 50's) were eating a late dinner at a restuarant near the Eiffel Tower and were drawn into conversation by a French woman of similar age eating alone at a nearby table. She explained that she wanted to practice her English. She asked us if we'd like for her to drive us around Paris - we, of course, said oui. She lived nearby and went to get her car while we waited outside, fully expecting her to rethink her invitation to two strangers and not return. A few minutes later, Dominique (an anesthesiologist by profession), pulled up and, for the next 4 hours, drove us ALL over Paris from the oldest areas to the most modern, from Avenue Montaigne to Place Pigalle, places both well-known and obscure, locations where famous movie scenes were shot and on and on. Finally, she pulled up in front of our rental apartment on rue Mazarine at 3 am, got out of her car, gave us a hug and drove off into the mist. I will never forget that night or the kindness and generosity of a Parisian toward to two unknown American tourists.

[gillian]

I live vicariously through you, Parisienne one. I begged Julian for a few days in the City of Light before Jordan. Maybe I'll be extra good and see if he says YES!

xo don't put my name in, you already spoil me enough! xo

[Sherri]

This book looks great! I love Paris and Postcards! I was on a tour of 11 European Countries in 18 days in my 20's with a group of girlfriends. We of course stopped in Paris. What's not to love... but we loved it a little too much and were taking lots of pictures at the Eiffel Tower when we noticed we were going to miss out tour bus. We ran back only to watch the bus pull away in the distance. Trying to find our way back to our hotel (outside the city) was quite the adventure. First we had to figure out the name of the hotel and then the location and then the metro system. Being lost is usually when the adventures in traveling begins. :)

[Nancy Sotham]

I have had so many wonderful moments in Paris. It is hard to pick just one. Or even ten! As I was just there this past summer, I'll pick one memory from that trip.

Joe had taken me to Le Comptoir for my birthday dinner. It was very busy and people were lining up on the sidewalk. Joe and I were deciding whether or not to order dessert. I said to the waiter, "Maybe we should forgo dessert and clear out so that someone else can take our table." The waiter looked over his shoulder at the growing line-up, turned to me and said, "You came to France to eat. Let them wait."

It was the best quote from that trip!

[maddie]

oh gosh they are beautiful tara

:) i finally have a phone hooked up so we must chat this week!

maddie

[RD]

What a beautiful gift book! My memories of Paris mostly have to do with walking. And walking. And walking. I think the best part was walking at night with my family and with my mother who was making her first trip to Europe and just drinking it all in. The beautiful night lights were most memorable!

[Dutchbaby]

The first time my soon-to-be husband and I came to Paris, we came upon the bird market on our way to Notre Dame. It was so unexpected and so enchanting yet I did not take a photo. I had not become the shutterbug yet. It is an indelible image in my memory though.

[Pat's Addition]

Our first trip to Paris with the kids (ages 10 and 12): As my blond 10 yr old daughter was walking down Rue St Jacques with a baguette she taken for French and asked by a passerby "Ou a la boulangerie?". She thought this was hysterical. (She worked in Paris 3 summers when she grew up.) The same trip our son had on his crew jacket and we met rowers from his team while we were in Notre Dame. It taught them what a small world this is.

[JanePoet ~ JP/deb]

When I visited Paris I met two men who were portrait artists near Basilica Sacré-Cœur. After they drew our portraits, we all went out for coffee and talked about politics, family, and literature. Both were married to French women and one was from Serbia and the other from Croatia ... was a fascinating afternoon!!

Looking forward to my next trip to Paris - this coming Spring!!

xx,
deb

[Carla]

Soaking my feet in one of the fountains outside the Louvre on a smoldery hot summer afternoon...having the little fish nibble at my toes and the gentleman next to me laugh with delight at my squeals of surprise. That's just one of many.

[Kathryn Brashears]

Arriving in Paris for the first time (by myself) and catching a ride from the airport in a private taxi and zooming through the streets of the city on an overcast, cool spring day. Looking out the windows of the cab and drinking in all the sights of beautiful architecture, layout of streets, fashions and displays in windows, French posters in the wrought iron trimmed kiosks, flower stands full of fragrant blossoms and daring couples speeding past on scooters slight inches away from my cab. It all seemed surreal after an overnight flight across the Atlantic, awake with excitement of going to a city I had always dreamed of visiting. Then arriving at a lovely hotel with enchanting staff to a most comfortable room around the corner from the Place Vendome. The beginning of a magical two week trip to France that I'll have to repeat some day.

[Megan Butel]

My husband and I went on a short three week holiday having left our very young children with my mother in Australia - it was supposed to be a bit of a second honeymoon. We'd spent a week driving around Ireland - which went well despite me navigating and him having to follow instructions.

We flew out from Ireland and arrived in Paris on a beautiful, sunny autumn day - it was more like spring than autumn it was so warm.

After we had checked in at our hotel, we decided to go for a walk - so there we are strolling down the Champs Elysee heading towards the Eiffel Tower. I said something in French. He made fun of my pronunciation and corrected me. He was wrong. I told him so. He asked me what would I know as - after all - he had done french at school. So had I - up to the final year of high school and being younger than him - my experience of high school french was more recent and far broader. He wasn't having a bar of it. Either was I. The whole discussion quickly disintegrated into an embarrassing public slanging match culminating in him storming off in a huff back to the hotel.
So that's what can happen to you on a sunny Sunday afternoon in Paris walking down the Champs Elysee with the one you love. That story happened 12 years ago - and we still can't talk about that fight without it starting another one!
I am quite sure we will never feature in a Willy Ronis picture postcard of Paris.

[a fanciful twist]

I feel guilty becasue I came to visit and you are having a giveaway, and I don't want to seem greedy ;) ;)

But then again, you already know me, so I know you don't think that ;)

I fell in love in Paris, it was in a pâtisserie, that the perfect love came to be. He was soft, and smooth and sweet. He loved me back unconditionally, he sat with me for hours, and watched me sip my espresso. He listened, he was one of a kind - and I didn't even gain a pound when I decided to gobble him up, that sweet little chocolate croissant. The perfect kind of love ;)

Okay, it was a tall tale, but still...

xoxoxx

[Donna]

So many wonderful memories...a whole day wandering around the D'orsay, falling in love with the exquisite marble statues, the huge clock with the sun shining through it, the view from the balcony next to the cafe on the top floor.

[Zoe]

So many memories, so much fun in Paris. One stands out, an all night adventure with my newly graduated daughter, with friends from the Pasteur, at downstairs jazz clubs with overpriced drinks, then joining a friend whose flat sat under the Eiffel, shining brightly into her windows, laughing and shaking our heads at getting old.

[martina]

My parents and I went to Europe for two weeks during my senior year of high school. The Hole in the Wall restaurant/Bar Americain. A cannonball had gone through the building wall sometime around 1815. Max and his wife owned the restaurant. She was the chef, he was the host. First time I'd eaten escargots but not the last. Our last day in Paris was Good Friday. We stopped to have dinner and say goodbye. Max's wife had fixed an Easter cake and he presented us with three slices. I remember it was a very airy delicate yellow cake. Each slice had a little wax chick as a decoration. I still have my chick. The restaurant is now a Chinese restaurant.

[Madame Tut]

Being invited to dinner with the teeny-tiny 89 y.o. woman who lived downstairs from our Paris vacation rental in the 10th arrondissement... enjoying the delicious meal she prepared for us and being blessed with stories of her life she graciously shared with us.

[Mike Drips]

Was just there in October 2009! Memorable experiences: lights on the Eiffel Tower, restaurant hustlers in the Latin Quarter, the very hilly Montmartre area, eating at the “Amelie” café, a blue cheese salad in Bercy wherein the cheese was blue but it was not “blue cheese”, a few adventures and misadventures on Rue de Rivoli, the louvre, shopping and dining on the Champs-Elysees, the metro and the metro stations themselves, the disappointing Pompidou center, and surviving the climb to the top of the Arc de Triomphe (which has a spectacular view of Paris).

[Debi]

My best memory of Paris was a spring night at Versailles when we attended a business function at the palace. After a candlelit dinner, we all went in to the gardens where classical music was played and we were treated to a fireworks show. It felt like a dream....

[Marilyn]

My most memorable time in Paris is having tea with you at the Mariage Freres and concerts at Sainte Chappele. I would love to win the postcard book. I bought some postcards at the Ham Fair and love them.

[julochka]

so awful that my only memories of paris involve horrible layovers at CDG, since that's the closest i've been. i do, however, also have good memories of buying some really excellent champagne there one new year's eve on my way through to copenhagen. it was a gorgeous moët & chandon and was very much enjoyed by all that new year's eve. sigh.

[Redness]

Waaaaaaaaaaaa ... sob, sob ... currently my most memorable experiences in the City of Light are via the gorgeous blogs I devour, books I read - movies I read too via subtitles, along with my yearning to be regarded as a Francophile, while wearing the French charm bracelets I collect ... voila all will be fulfilled when I visit in May 2010. xo.