Well, here’s another little gem I found recently. The full title is Complainte du Siège de Vence avec un abrégé de l’Histoire de Vence (Lament of the Siege of Vence with a Summary of the History of Vence). It’s a small 20 page booklet, measuring about 15cm by 12cm. Written by J. Boyer and first published in 1927, this copy is a “Nouvelle Édition” published in April 1933. The cover says that is “En l’Honneur des Grands Saints Véran et Lambert” (In honor of the great saints Véran and Lambert). Saint Véran and Saint Lambert are the two patron saints of Vence. Saint Véran served as Bishop of Vence from 451 to 481 and Saint Lambert from 1114-1154. It also says “Glorieux Défenseurs Protecteurs constants de la Cité” (Glorious defenders, constant protectors of the city). The price is 2 francs and it says that it is on sale in all the bookstores in Vence, or you can buy it directly from the author who lives at Place Thiers.
Immortal Village
I’m very excited to be able to offer this book as a PDF download on our website. This might be the only full-length book written about the history of Vence, in English, that exists. It’s certainly the only one that I have come across. Immortal Village, written by Donald Culross Peattie, was first published in 1926 as Vence in a privately printed edition of just five hundred copies. Printed in France it was not circulated outside of the country. A few years later portions of the book were used in another book called Happy Kingdom by Donald and his wife Louise Redfield Peattie, published by Blackie & Son, Ltd., in Glasgow, Scotland. The complete book was finally published officially in 1945 by the University of Chicago Press, in Chicago, as Immortal Village. It was completely revised and Peattie wrote a new biographical preface speaking about how the book came to be written. Wonderful new woodblock illustrations by Paul Landacre grace each chapter of this version.
Vence And Its Fountains
Small flier about the fountains in Vence I’ve been fascinated with the fountains in Vence (and really all over the south of France) since I first started coming here many years ago. I’ve written in depth about the Vence fountains on this website. Several years ago I found this small flier at the Office de…
1925 Notice sur les Eaux de Vence
Brochure about the water in Vence from 1925 Another very cool little find for me. A six page brochure from 1925 all about the water in Vence, specifically the water from the La Foux spring. It’s 24cm by 11cm when folded up. The cover is a kind of “billboard” touting the best attributes of Vence….
Vence List Of Hotels From 1924
Vence List of Hotels from 1924 This is a wonderful little find, a four page brochure from 1924 listing all the hotels and “Pensions de Famille” for the 1924-1925 tourist season. It measures about 24cm by 11cm when folded. It’s an excellent glance back at a time in history when Vence was a true tourist…
Vence La Jolie (Map)
Vence La Jolie (Map) I don’t know exactly what year this map is from. I suspect it is from the 1980s or maybe 1990s, but there is no date on it anywhere. Also hard to say who put it out. Maybe the Office de Tourisme? Maybe the Chamber of Commerce? It folds up to a…
Vence et le Pays Vençois
Vence et le Pays Vençois: En Toute Intimité (Carnet de Visites) This little book looks to have been issued sometime in the 1990s by the Office de Tourisme in Vence. I say that because there is a price on the back cover of 15 Francs. The Euro was launched on January 1, 2002, so it…