When in December, 1918, with its subtitle " Parisian magazine " and under an illustrated cover was announced this futile creation of Jules S . Marchand, man of letters and of wit, one could not really expect 450 numbers which were going to drive it until 1937, passing from forty centimes to five francs, and in which accompanied, in spite of its title, all the alterations which were going to make from Riviera. “la Côte d'Azur”.
Resolutely modern, it soon abandoned the publication of " lists " of hosts who, more and more numerous and scattered along a coast which always grew longer, were renewed too quickly to be listed. On the other hand, the society gossip column took more importance and enjoyed outlining the features of the very important persons, less and less crowned heads, more and more stars belonging to a society of privileged movie or music hall actors , billionaires, high-level sportsmen, the duke of Windsor, Yvonne Printemps, Suzanne Lenglen *, " empress of the racket ", Charlie Chaplin, Aga Khan and, why not, Mister or Miss Tout le monde: It is the " Riviera's nobility ", test bench for fashion and new dances, where one could observe " alternatly breasts and rumps protudings " of recently stitch-dressed girls and one admited the difficulty that one had to count the hours until twenty four
Jules Marchand, the director, would easily feel nostalgia when evoking the beautiful hours of the past and the personalities, Empress Eugénie, Marchioness de Rochefort, Juliette Adam *, Jean Lorrain *, Oscar Métennier, whom he used to cross on " the Prom " or in lounges. After an interruption from 1929 till 1934, he resumed the management of his magazine which became again what it was, spiritual and caustic. But it sometimes gave in to a doubtful ease
Some shadows tarnished indeed the gaiety of the magnificent covers that illustrated with talent Jules Chéret, Van Dongen, Marcel Arnac, Foujita, Picabia, Jean Sennep and, most frequently, Don, and the photos in which the brilliant whites of the sea and of the sky illuminated the black of the silhouettes. Successive aversions, which a funny causticity half wanted to hide, went and came like the waves according to the events and instilled a slow poison, attacking successively the "Boches", the " Bolcheviks ", the Americans and the " négromania ", the "wops", and even Jesus, considered as Jew! Some "funny" stories made a fool, under the title of" Hitleriana ", of the dictatorship in Germany, but at the same time the advertisement announced the putting on sale of Mussolini's works, and certain co-workers, as Willy or G. de La Fouchardière, wrote also in l’Œ uvre
Otherwise, the review never entered politics, nevertheless it dedicated a beautiful special number, in May, 1935, to the positive aspects of the action of mayor Jean Médecin*. But, discouraged by the general context of the press, the international events and, become pessimistic because of his age, Jules Marchand decided to stop the publication in May, 1937. The review was probably the last society gossip newspaper of Côte d'Azur.
Suzanne CERVERA
