Old French Crime
February 15, 2017 9:32 AM   Subscribe

A daily pic of crime, accident or dirigible disaster from French tabloids circa 1890-1920. Created by journalist Marie Gilot, who started the project to "highlight sensationalist--and often inaccurate--journalism of the past so we can feel better about the sensationalist--and often inaccurate--journalism of today."
posted by Cash4Lead (15 comments total) 17 users marked this as a favorite
 
Surprisingly high number of mid-air collisions back then. And cow-on-plane attacks.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 9:41 AM on February 15, 2017 [1 favorite]


All of these could be Hardy Boys book covers.
posted by Hermione Granger at 10:14 AM on February 15, 2017 [5 favorites]


Lion tamer takes lion for a ride; police decline to make traffic stop, 1909

Could definitely use a poster-sized version of this one.
posted by The Minotaur at 10:17 AM on February 15, 2017 [2 favorites]


We were just outside of Barstow when the drugs began to take hold: https://twitter.com/OldFrenchCrime/status/789488925840592896/photo/1
posted by poe at 10:23 AM on February 15, 2017 [3 favorites]


Paranoid/mystic woman murders one priest; confesses to another priest

I mean, we've been there, right?
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:24 AM on February 15, 2017 [4 favorites]


Fun stuff.

Reminds me of this Twitter account, "3-line news items from Le Matin 'are the poems & novels Fénéon never otherwise wrote.'”
posted by doctornemo at 10:29 AM on February 15, 2017


I have a soft spot for the NY Daily News, which came out of this era and still seems to practice the same kind of journalism.

I also read way too many Fantômas novels so I understand what sort of audience they were playing to.

In sum, I should probably stop reading tabloids.
posted by fiercekitten at 11:24 AM on February 15, 2017 [1 favorite]


Ocean liner crew keeps escaped jaguar at bay with boiling water, 1909.

Well, yes. That's typically how it's done.
posted by Naberius at 11:26 AM on February 15, 2017 [5 favorites]


I'm seeing surprisingly few references to the infamous crimes of the nefarious Fantômas.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 11:38 AM on February 15, 2017 [1 favorite]


"Fishermen catch 1,500 octopuses in their nets; freak out, 1906"

The freaking-out is perfectly understandable, but someone must have kept their head for long enough to count them.
posted by Fuchsoid at 12:24 PM on February 15, 2017


Could definitely use a poster-sized version of this one.

There are links to bigger versions provided with each tweet. Not poster-sized, but not small either.
posted by hat_eater at 1:04 PM on February 15, 2017 [1 favorite]


Equally interesting are her tweets on what artist war corespondents went through to hid their drawings.

And speaking of journalism: Woman shoots journalist who insulted her in article; newspaper apologizes to her! 1898
posted by not_the_water at 1:16 PM on February 15, 2017 [1 favorite]




Lion tamer takes lion for a ride; police decline to make traffic stop, 1909

Could definitely use a poster-sized version of this one.


Do a Google Images search for "lion + wall of death". I think you'll like what you find.

(And the British Pathe News thumbnail there has some film footage.)
posted by Paul Slade at 1:55 AM on February 16, 2017 [1 favorite]


Dirigible disasters seem to have been the bus plunges of that era.
posted by acb at 4:27 AM on February 16, 2017


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