In the final part of the visit to the Musee des Arts et Metier in Paris, we’ll look at some of the more industral objects and end with a room setting.
There were some truly wonderful and historical objects in this museum, but the largest percentage of them were enclosed in glass cases for their protection since they are quite valuable and culturally significant to the history of French design. However, since the museum galleries are splendidly well lit, that made it practically impossible to take a picture without some sort of glare or reflection, so I’m sticking to a few last pictures of things that were not encased in glass.
I don’t often share pictures of industrial objects, but they do quite often make me say “Oooo!” out loud. And there’s something quite wonderful about the technology of the early to mid 20th Century that I find especially appealing. Here are two examples.
The first one is a 1910 airplane engine — the inside — the structural elements that hold that set of propellers in place as the power zooms through the engine. I just think it’s gorgeous.
Close-up sideview of 1910 French designed airplane engine.
Then there’s this early sound system for a movie projection set up in a cinema. The French were pioneers in film technology and they were quite early adopters of this new form of entertainment.
An early movie theatre sound system.
Finally, we were surprised to see just how many schoolchildren, from primary school age through high school age, were in the museum on the weekday that we attended. The museum is a fantastic educational resource for these students to learn about the wonderful inventions through the ages that their fellow Frenchmen have been either involved in or directly responsible for.
Students at a lecture inside the newer wing of the Musee des Arts et Metier in Paris.
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