Village in France: Louis Clergeau's Photographic Portrait of Daily Life in Pontlevoy, 1902-1936

Photographing for twenty-four years, Louis Clergeau produced an exquisite and exhaustively detailed portrait of the French town Pontlevoy. His images are both records of the town as an architectural environment and the populace themselves, as the accompanying descriptions reveal: telling who ran across the street to join the group portrait, why the Vine grafters are so busy this year, and which bicyclist posing before the race owns the local bike store, and how much time he allowed Clergeau to make the photograph.