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Mar. 14 Juin 2005, 05:02
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http://www.markbattypublisher.com/servlet/book_view?number=26
A tiny guillotine drawn in delicate chalk, an Edo-inspired mural of a wave,
a full-size torso lurching out from a wall, haunting white figures that run
down the walls, tiled mosaics, sprawling corridors of graffiti  this is
Paris Underground. For a dozen generations, people of every description,
from fugitives to soldiers to artists, have left their marks in the nearly
two hundred miles of limestone and gypsum quarries cut into the ground
beneath Paris. This is the first time these images have been published for
the world to see.
Built with the stone mined from quarries beneath her, Paris stands atop a
giant subterranean network of passages. Excavation of the quarries began in
the 12th century. Once mined, they were left vacant. In 1774, a street
collapsed; it became clear that the abandoned caverns required a staggering
amount of work to prevent the city from tumbling down whence it came.
Engineers were ordered to map and secure the elaborate system of mazes
beneath the city; ironically, their official efforts allowed the
infiltration of visitors both legal and illegal. Quarry laborers, criminals,
French Revolution soldiers, Nazis in World War II, the French Resistance,
the striking students and workers of the late 1960s and members of civilian
and secret societies old and new have all left their marks on the hidden
walls.
Engineering inscriptions, political tracts, pornographic stencils, highly
personal messages and mysterious graphic offerings, this wealth of images
and inscriptions snakes through the passageways and reveals nearly 400 years
of Parisian history.
Authors: Caroline Archer is a London-based writer and graphic designer with
a particular fascination for the urban artifact. She is the author of the
recent Mark Batty Publisher book Tart Cards, a tongue-in-cheek review of
prostitute¹s cards found in London phone boxes.
Alexandre Parré is an architect and Cataphile (the name of the contemporary
fanciers of the passages under Paris). He resides outside London.
Photographer: Loaded down with his equipment, Paris-based photographer
Gilles Tondini, waded, crawled, shimmied and squeezed through this
underground network in order to capture these images, under the guidance of
Gilles Thomas, a specialist on the passages and caves beneath Paris.
Both high and low-res images mentioned in this release can be found at
http://www.markbattypublisher.com/servlet/book_view?number=26
Paris Underground
By Caroline Archer and Alexandre Parré
192 pages, over 200 color illustrations
Case bound with dust jacket
8 x 9 1/2 inches
ISBN 0-9724240-7-5
Price: $45.00
For more information contact:
PR Liaison
Maggie Hohle
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+1.973.838.6916
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About Mark Batty Publisher: Dedicated to making distinctive books on the
visual art of communicating, Mark Batty Publisher books focus on graphic
design, typography, book arts and popular culture. Uniquely designed, often
extensively illustrated, each book is produced to the highest standard. From
the definitive edition of a wood engraver¹s lifework to a history of
advertising methods used by prostitutes in London, our books engage the
topic at hand to the fullest possible extent. Our authors and editors are
renowned in their respective fields. In order to match and compliment the
words and images they provide we bring innovation and imagination to our
titles through the thoughtful juxtaposition of design, presentation and
innovative book production. We do not seek design or production uniformity
in the books on our list, but strive for excellence appropriate to each
subject that is presented.
Mark Batty Publisher
6050 Boulevard East, Suite 2H
West New York, NJ 07093
+1.201.453.1775
Fax +1.201.861.3365
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