Paris: A Blast from the Past

In the 19th century, Charles Franck’s intricate illustrations of Paris elegantly captured both the city’s architecture and its lively street scene. This month, Rizzoli is reissuing the evocative images in “Paris: Les Boulevards,” a new book edited by Pamela Golbin, who describes Franck’s illustrations as being, “like a Google map from a bygone age.” Readers are transported back to a time when carriages filled the boulevards and flâneurs flaunted the latest fashions, through both the drawings and the text by Goblin, who is chief curator of Fashion and Textiles at the Museé des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. Despite its tiny trim size, it’s easy to get lost in this book—and, even better, it fits in a carry on. Paris: Les Boulevards, $30, is now available at rizzoliusa.com.