Monday, October 29, 2007

Sabine on a book

One more time, a non-philateic book catch my eye in a Parisian bookshop. This time, it's Sabine:



(picture taken from the bookshop-on-line alapage.com)

Gilles Pécout's book is a contemporary history of France in maps, published by the editor Autrement.

It seems to me this is essays of colours with the design of the 1 franc Sabine, a 1977-1981 French definitive series designed by Pierre Gandon and inspired by a painting of David.

Why did editor or author chose a Marianne that philatelists thought is one of the less revolutionary of all ? Perhaps to remind that 19th France was marked by the research of a quiet running political régime, first based on a rich social group (less dedicated to lose all in a coup), then enlarge to all the male citizens. The length of the 3rd Republic (1870-1940) and the continuous of the Republic régimes since 1945 prooves clearly that France is no more a revolutionary country. But, all this is my opinion.

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