Saturday 12 November 2011

Monte Carlo and the Rally

In 1911 the place to be seen was Nice, on the Mediterranean coast.  Monte Carlo did have its share of wealthy visitors but the Carnival in Nice and the Paris-Nice race attracted by far the majority.   The success of the race, a "concours d'élégance", led people in Monaco to the idea of starting their own rally.

To make it different from the others, they decided to have it starting in different European cities, including Geneva, Paris, Brussels, Berlin, and end up in Monaco.  It was to be for standard tourism class cars and not specially designed racing cars.  The winner was not to be the first past the post but points were awarded for distance, for speed (up to 25 km/h or 15 mph), for elegance, for comfort, for "aesthetic appreciation", amongst others.  Source.

This year was its centenary.  The first race was held in January 1911.  These postcards, although not showing the rally, date from roughly the same period.  They were produced by Jean Gilletta who opened a photographic studio in 1880 and in 1897 became a postcard publisher, ironically though, in Nice.  They are part of a booklet of 10.


Monaco was the ancient port of Hércule founded by the Phoenicians, a fortified peninsula which for a long time commanded the passage through this part of the Mediterranean Sea.  The Genoese established themselves in the 13th century and the Grimaldi family have been the rulers ever since. The Palace, the Cathedral, the Oceanographic Museum are the main monuments of the old Monaco, held within the 17th century fortifications. [from the introduction to the book of postcards]




Because of the casino there, Monte Carlo was a "new" town created in 1866 under the auspices of Prince Charles III who gave it his name. This town is as well known worldwide as many much older cities. From all  points of the globe, people flock to Monte Carlo where opera performances, comedy, classical concerts, pigeon shooting , various competitions such as motor boat racing are organized  in royal fashion.  No other town can offer such a beautiful set of daily attractions, sports, arts.  [Also from the introduction to the book of postcards].



A post for the celebration of the 100th Sepia Saturday.
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18 comments:

  1. Thanks for the information. all of it was new to me.

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  2. That was clever to find postcards linked to an actual centenary this year. Well done!

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  3. I wish I could go there...somehow I think the harbor area is not so empty today.

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  4. I love those old postcards of Monte Carlo. It's still a beautiful spot, but the clothing with hats and parasols adds to the ambiance.

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  5. Thanks for the history lesson. I had no idea. It makes me want to study up on European history. Those casinos were something else. So beautiful.
    Nancy javier

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  6. Monte Carlo has a totally different look today - the harbour's full of luxury yachts, Formula 1 takes over the place once a year, but the Rally has an ambience of its own. I've never seen so many Ferraris in one place as there.

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  7. Hopping back a hundred years turns up some fascinating facts...

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  8. Great post - Monaco seems very grand and romantic so we made plans to drive my British sports car from Scotland. Roof down, big sunglasses and scarf over the hair. Then my engine blew up... Maybe next year! Jo

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  9. I love learning about places I have never been.

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  10. What a fascinating piece of history. A few years ago we had a day ashore from a cruise holiday at Villafrance. Up at the main road there were two bus stops : one for the bus west to Nice, one for the bus east to Monte Carlo. We decided to catch the first bus which came and finished up in Nice. I intend to go back one day and this time head east. Thanks so much for all your delightful contributions to Sepia Saturday.

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  11. That was fascinating. I had never heard the history of Monte Carlo. All you usually hear about is the casinos. (Pigeon shooting !!!!!)
    Barbara

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  12. The second photo of the Cafe de Paris is very fun to look at: the long dresses on the ladies, the suits and hats on the men; umbrellas!; and the waiter standing on the left with his apron. A pleasure to look at. Thanks for sharing.

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  13. Thanks for sharing the postcards - the combination of architecture and palms make it almost seem to be in French North Africa.

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  14. What a fun rally back in 1911. It would be a grand tour today as well. I can't wait to see what you come up with for SS101!

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  15. I Never Realised what a long History Monte Carlo had.More Style ,Less Speed in those days!

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Welcome to my postcard collection! I love hearing what you think of the cards - but spam WILL be deleted.

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