Paris Right bank / Left bank.
Along the Seine between labor and pleasure
From 1860 to 1960, the appearance of the two banks of the Seine is constantly changing because of craft and commercial activities.
Today, bicycles and pedestrians have replaced cars on the banks of the river, but at the turn of the 20th century it was more usual to come across itinerant wigmakers, dog-shearers, cowherds selling freshly milked-milk and quilters who rewound the wool of mattresses, while coachmen came to wash and water their horses.
World War II. Children bathing in the Seine. Paris (1st arr.), July 11, 1941.
Photo LAPI
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Swimming in the Seine, near Pont-Neuf. Paris (1st arr.), circa 1935.
Photo Gaston Paris
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Swimming at Port-à-l'Anglais beach. Vitry-sur-Seine, July 12, 1924.
Photo Excelsior
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Crowd at the Deligny floating pool during a heat wave. Paris (7th arr.), on June 30, 1968.
Photo Marcel Fournès
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
For summer holidays only, kids played along the banks of the Seine, glimpsing in the distance those from the "upper classes" get back into shape at the Samaritaine baths or strutted their stuff at the Deligny swimming pool.
At the edge of the Auteuil village, employees and workers families came to enjoy themselves in the Point-du-Jour guinguettes and cafés-concerts or they embarked on a river trip on one of the many ships of the Compagnie Générale des Bateaux that once crisscrossed the Seine.
The "amphibocycle", water bicycle, on the Seine. Asnières (Hauts-de-Seine), 1909.
Photo Maurice-Louis Branger
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Bed floating on the river. Paris, July 1914.
Photo Maurice-Louis Branger
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Delbord diving on a bicycle during the French diving championship. Paris, June 22, 1913.
Photo Maurice-Louis Branger
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
World War I. Swimming across Paris, first swimming race taking place in 1905 between Pont National and Pont Mirabeau. Paris, July 29, 1917.
Photo Excelsior
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Auteuil viaduct. Fishermen during a flood of the river Seine. Paris (16th arr.), circa 1950.
Photo Edith Gérin
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Fishermen. Paris, 1940.
Photo LAPI
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Banks of the Seine. Paris, circa 1950.
Photo Edith Gérin
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Fisherman by the Pont-Neuf. Paris, 1938-1939.
Photo Marcel Cerf
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Head of the Île Saint-Louis, view frome Quai de l’Hôtel de Ville. Paris (4th arr.), circa 1950.
Photo Edith Gérin
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Stairs of Port du Louvre, towards Pont des Arts. Paris (1st arr.).
Photo René Jacques
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Bus accident on Pont de l’Archevêché. Paris (4th arr.), September 27, 1911.
Photo Maurice-Louis Branger
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Pont des Arts and Institut de France, Quai de Conti, fishermen’s rowing boats. Paris (1st and 6th arr.), circa 1950.
Photo René-Jacques
40x50 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
The Seine at the Quai des Tuileries. The former Pont de Solférino in the background. Paris (4th arr.), 1860.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Horses bathing at Port de Javel, near Pont de Grenelle. Paris (15th arr.), 1894.
Photo Henry de Lestrange
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Dogs and horses bathing. Paris (13th arr.), circa 1890.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Open-air cafés and terminus of barges at Point-du-Jour, on a Sunday. Paris (XVIth arrondissement), 1900.
Photo Léon & Lévy
60x80 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Pont des Arts and Institut de France, view from the Pont des Saints-Pères, circa 1900.
Photo Neurdein
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Quai de Bercy. Unloading wine barrels. Paris (12th arr.), 1938-1939.
Photo LAPI
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Halles aux vins. Barrels along the Seine, Paris, circa 1950.
Photo Roger-Viollet
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Barges over the Seine. Paris, circa 1905.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Coalmen unloading a barge. Paris, 1908.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Stable on a barge. Paris 1908.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
World War One. Barber by the Seine. Paris.
Photo Charles Lansiaux
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Itinerant barber on the banks of the Seine. Paris, 1908.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Dog shearer on the banks of the Seine. Paris, 1908.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Dogs washer. Paris, circa 1895.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Quilter on the quay of the Seine. Paris, circa 1900.
Photo Albert Harlingue
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Cowherds selling fresh milk at the Point-du-Jour. Paris (16th arr.), circa 1894-1895.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
The Monnaie locks viewed from the Pont des Arts, Pont-Neuf in background. Paris, circa 1955-1860.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Panorama from Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral towards Seine upstream. Paris, circa 1865.
Photo Léon & Lévy
40x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Panorama of Quai des Célestins, circa 1860.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
The former suspension footbridge, destroyed in 1861-1862, from île de la Cité to the forefront of île Saint-Louis ; in the background, Saint-Gervais church. Paris (4th arr.).
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Pont Louis-Philippe. Panoramic view from the bell tower of Saint-Gervais church. Paris, circa 1860.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Panoramic view of eight bridges. Paris, before 1860.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Pont Saint-Michel and Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. Paris (4th et 5th arr.), circa 1900.
Photo Neurdein
40x50 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Aerial view of Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis. (Paris (1st and 4th arr.), circa 1950.
Photo Aéro-Photo
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral : Roofs and view on the Seine. Paris (4th arr.), circa 1945.
Photo Gaston Paris
40x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Laying of a scaffolding on Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. Paris (4th arr.), February 1952.
Photo Collection Roger-Viollet
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
View from the top of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. Paris (4th arr.), 1950’s.
Photo Janine Niepce
40x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. Roofs and view on the Seine. Paris (4th arr.), circa 1945.
Photo Gaston Paris
40x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Panorama of the right bank taken from the towers of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. Paris (4th arr.), circa 1900.
Photo Neurdein
25x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Overview of the Seine, its banks and the spire of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. Paris (4th arr.), 1956.
Photo Janine Niepce
40x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
The Samaritaine public baths, from Pont-Neuf. Paris (1st arr.), 1865-1870.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
1900 Paris World's Fair. The Eiffel Tower, the Service des Eaux - Worthington pavilion and the Globe Céleste. Paris (7th arr.), 1900.
Photo Neurdein
40x50 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
1878 Paris World's Fair. Balloon flying over the Louvre. View from Pont Royal. Paris, 1878.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
1900 Paris World's Fair. Pont Alexandre III. Foreground on the left : the Italian pavilion. The Turkish pavilion in the background. Paris, 1900.
Photo Léon & Lévy
40x40 cm print.
In 1900, 51 million visitors rushed to the Paris World’s Fair: for seven months, every bank of the Seine was transformed into a replica of a fantasy world of ephemeral architecture of which almost nothing now remains in the Parisian landscape. The thirteen kilometers of the Seine that cross the capital are all solutions to industrial challenges: the linking of the two banks to allow the metro traffic, the submerging caissons under the river, or the building of metal structures to span it, such as the Austerlitz viaduct inaugurated in 1904.
1900 Paris World's Fair. Panoramic view of the Turkey and United States pavilions, overlooking the Seine from Pont des Invalides. Paris, 1900.
Photo Neurdein
80x30 cm print.
1900 Paris World's Fair. Panorama of the Nations palaces and the Seine. Paris, 1900.
Photo Neurdein
80x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
1900 Paris World's Fair. National Manufacture palace, on the Invalides esplanade. Panorama from Pont Alexandre III. Paris, 1900.
Photo Collection Roger-Viollet
80x30 cm print.
Pont de la Tournelle towards Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral. Paris (4th arr.), circa 1950.
Photo René-Jacques
40x50 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
The Seine frozen over. Barges caught in the ice, Quai de Grenelle. 1893.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Warehouse on the banks of the Seine. Paris, 1919.
Photo Collection Roger-Viollet
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Whether by the river transport of goods and building materials or by the wine trade thanks to the dedicated ports and warehouse at Bercy, the Seine has long been one of the capital’s main features. However, the fact remains that the banks and islands of the Seine alone contribute to the romantic image that visitors from all over the world have always had of City of Light.
One year ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games ceremony, Galerie Roger-Viollet celebrates the Seine and tells its story through 86 photographs of which most of the original glass plates and negatives are preserved by the Bibliothèque historique de la Ville de Paris.
Panorama taken from the Louvre. Washboats downriver from Pont-Neuf. Paris, circa 1860.
Photo Léon & Lévy
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Construction of Paris Metro, line 2 south (presently line 6). Assembling of Passy viaduct. Paris, April - June 1904.
Photo Charles Maindron
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Construction of Paris Metro, line 4. Crossing the Seine at Châtelet. Paris, 11 juin 1908.
Photo Charles Maindron
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Construction of Paris Metro, line 4. Paris, 1905-1909.
Photo Albert Harlingue
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Pont-métro Morland on Canal Saint-Martin. Paris (4th arr.), October 15, 1908.
Photo Charles Maindron
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Pont aval viewed from 15th arrondissement. Construction of Paris ring road. Paris, January 1967.
Photo René Chomont
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Construction of Paris Metro, line 5. Building of Austerlitz viaduct. Paris (13th arr.), circa 1908.
Anonymous photography
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Austerlitz viaduct. Paris, 1980.
Photo Jean-Pierre Couderc
40x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Construction of Paris Metro, line 5. Building of Austerlitz viaduct. Paris (13th arr.), December 3, 1904.
Photo Union Photographique Française
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Pont de Bir-Hakeim and the Eiffel Tower. Paris (16th arr.), 1908.
Photo Maurice-Louis Branger
60x40 cm print.
Nap on the banks of the Seine. Paris, September 1962.
Photo Roger-Viollet
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Couple on the banks of the Seine, near Pont des Arts, Paris (1st arr.), 1949.
Photo Edith Gérin
40x50 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Lovers on the banks of the Seine. Paris, 1945.
Photo René-Jacques
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Relaxing on the banks of the Seine. Quai du Louvre, near the Pont-Neuf. Paris (1st arr.), circa 1960.
Photo Oswald Perrelle
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Fashion photography for Tunmer brand. Paris, May 1937.
Photo Boris Lipnitzki
30x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Sunbathing on the banks of the Seine. Paris, August 1958.
Photo Roger-Viollet
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Couples along the Seine. Paris, 1960’s.
Photo Harold Chapman
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Vert-Galant park on île de la Cité. Paris(1st arr.), 1983.
Photo Janine Niepce
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Bouquinistes on quai de la Tournelle. Paris (5th arr.), 1934.
Photo Jacques Boyer
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Seine flood. Porte de la Gare (13th arr.). January 1910.
Anonymous photography
40x23 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Seine flood. Quai de la Rapée. Paris (12th arr.), January 1910.
Photo Neurdein
40x23 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Seine flood. Quai de Bercy. Paris (12th arr.), January 1910.
Photo Albert Harlingue
40x23 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Tanneries on the banks of the river Bièvre. Autochrome. Paris, circa 1865. Paris (13th arr.).
Photo Charles Marville
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Canal of the river Bièvre. Paris, circa 1910.
Photo Jules-Gervais Courtellemont
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
The quays, île de la Cité. Paris (4th arr.), 1925.
Photo Eugène Atget
30x40 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Seine flood. Pont-Neuf viewed from left bank. Autochrome. Paris, circa 1907.
Photo Eugène Atget
24x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Pont-Neuf viewed from Vert-Galant Park. Paris (6th arrondissement), 1911.
Photo Eugène Atget
24x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Pont-Neuf, view on the left bank. Paris 1911.
Photo Eugène Atget
24x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.
Port de Solférino. Paris (7th arr.), 1908-1911.
Photo Eugène Atget
24x30 cm print. Limited edition of 30 numbered copies.