Any Francophiles Or Old Parisians Out There?

I recently posted a thread on engraved and etched postcards from Paris, around the turn of the 19th century. http://goscf.com/t/47497#409566 I was curious about whether these engraved cards were purely a French phenomenon from that era or if they exist from other countries.

But other such cards in this collection show "Vieux Paris" or Old Paris, with historical depictions of the city. These engravings have a somewhat different look than the others and I'm wondering if any forum members know anything about them. Some of these show scenes as far back as the 1660s and one says 1350. I'd be interested to find out if the printing plates were created much earlier and repurposed later for souvenir postcards.

They was no engraved printing in 1350

All the images likely were made in the late 19th century, some by making new engraved images that copied views shown in much earlier images, probably paintings. These images appear to be from a series produced at about the same time by the same company. Note the plate numbers in the upper corners, and the company name U.P. Graveurs in the lower corners.

In France engraving or "graveurs" long has been considered an important branch of art on equal footing with painting, drawing and sculpture, with perhaps more prestige given to it than in many countries at the same time period except perhaps for Italy. In the Louvre there is a hall in which sections of the soaring ceiling give tribute to the great branches of art, and engraving is one of them. To this day you can buy picture size images like those in your postcard at stand along the banks of the Seine and they are commonly displayed as domestic art.

The church of St. Germain in your fifth image is essentially unchanged today. It is in the 6th Arr. near a fashionable shopping district. I stood in the same spot as your view in November 2015 on the day after the Paris terror attacks, then entered straight through those Gothic front doors for prayers. The square is there in the same size as in your view. To the observers left and over their right shoulder there are bustling cafes. To the right across the road, the ground floor of that same building now has a posh clothing shop and there is a busy bus stop and subway entrance at the right corner of the church.

Thanks for sharing.