FOLK COSTUMES – FRANCE
19th Century.
Top row.
- – Peasant woman from the neighbourhood of La Rochelle or the southern Vendee Region (Département Haute-Saône).
- – Fisherwoman from Treport. County of Eu, Normandy.
- – Fisherwoman of Boulogne sur Mer. Hauts-de-France region.
- – Peasant woman from the region of Avignon. Provence.
- – Fisherwoman from Normandy.
- – Peasant from Savoie. Département of Haute-Savoie.
- – Peasant from Funi in Corsica.
Bottom row. Bretons.
- – Farmer from Pont-Aven on the southern coast of Brittany.
- – Peasant woman from the Carhaix-Plouguer area. Brittany.
- – Farmer’s wife from Pont-de-Buis, Brittany.
- – Farmer from Kertuniun. Brittany.
- – Farmer’s wife from the Antrain-sur-Couesnon area (Entraven). Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany.
- – Young Breton from Pont l’Abbe, Département Finistère, on the west coast of the country.
It should be noted that Brittany is essentially inhabited by Celts, some of whom still speak their ancient language. The conquest of Britain by the Anglo-Saxons drove many emigrants to Brittany, which was named after them. The Bretons are regarded as outwardly rough and brittle, with efficient, sensuous and poetic qualities, and in customs and costumes they have proved to be particularly conservative.
Source: History of the Costume by Adolf Rosenberg. Text by Prof. Dr. Eduard Heyck. Published by Ernst Wasmuth, Berlin 1905.
