After my searches, I'm convinced that bikes with luggage carriers or
"porte-bagages" were common, but not newsworthy so that they aren't
featured in picture archives like the vélo-taxis.
Pictures
========
1938 bike with luggage carrier from an exhibition in Cantal
http://www.cantalpassion.com/images2003(2)/aout_2003/expo_cyclo_2003_22.jpg
from:
http://www.cantalpassion.com/semaine_cyclo_dans_le_cantal.htm
Belgian "evacuation bike", posed for an exhibition.
http://www.ormeignies.net/images/expo95-9.jpg
from: "Ormeignies se souvient (1940 - 1945)"
http://www.ormeignies.net/activites/index.htm
Bike for film of "Lacombe Lucien", set in 1944, made in 1974
http://nef-louismalle.com/images/lacombe2.jpg
from:
http://nef-louismalle.com/imagbank/lacombl.htm
This 1943 bike looks as if it has a luggage rack, but unfortunately
the picture's very unclear.
http://www.mairie-metz.fr:8080/METZ/ENVIR/ENVIR_COUV-ARMES2.html
There's even more of a problem with these stills from "La Bicyclette
Bleue", set in occupied France. Is that a luggage carrier on the back?
http://www.imavision.com/fr/eStore,wciCatalogue,Type-P,ID-984,LoadCat-1.html
http://www.2xmoinscher.com/DVD/detail.asp?id=8273&Coupon=utile&dvd=La%20bicyclette%20bleue
Personal anecdotes
==================
An accordionist took his wife on the luggage carrier when going to
play at a forbidden wartime dance in the mountains of central France.
"C'était pendant la dernière guerre au centre de la France. Toute
réunion publique était interdite et les bals également. Mais les gens
avaient envie de continuer à danser quand même et ils se retrouvaient
dans des granges perdues dans les montagnes. Un accordéoniste jouait
pour eux. Il y allait en vélo, 10 km ou plus, sa femme sur le
porte-bagages et son piano à bretelles en bandoulière.
[...]
Et une fois le bal fini, avec son vélo, sa femme et son accordéon
derrière lui, par les chemins sinueux de la montagne, il rentrait à la
maison..."
From the newsletter of the Breton accordion association, "Collectif
Accordéon Diatonique de Bretagne"
http://www.cadb.org/Parole-9/
~~~~
Mother carrying son:
"Ma mère portait mon frère sur son porte bagages"
http://www.microjo.net/textes/souvenirs.htm
From personal memoirs - list of contents at:
http://www.microjo.net/textes/sommaire.htm
~~~~
In Belgium in May 1940, a woman took her mother on the luggage carrier:
"Ma mère l'a emmenée sur son porte-bagages jusqu'à Ransart"
Souvenirs de guerre d?un enfant de huit ans
by André GANY
http://ibelgique.ifrance.com/clham/050413.htm
On the website of the "Centre Liégeois d'Histoire et d'Archéologie Militaires"
Their home page is at:
http://ibelgique.ifrance.com/clham/index.htm
~~~~
In the postwar period, this mother often carried her son on her bike.
" . . . époque difficile où tu feras souvent, en bicyclette, ton fils sur le
porte-bagages, la route entre Lure et Magnoncourt."
From an obituary/article in an Alsace newspaper
http://www.payspresse.com/pdfs/02/11/10/pdfs/17.pdf
~~~~
And though this next anecdote comes from Utrecht, it's too dramatic to
leave out, as a woman about to give birth rides on the luggage carrier
while her husband pedals as fast as he can for the hospital.
"Utrecht, le 14 mars 1945, quatre heures du matin. Malgré le
couvre-feu ? c'était toujours la guerre - mon père a sauté sur son
vélo sans pneus et a pédalé aussi vite qu'il pouvait. Ma mère
tressautait sur le porte-bagages et se cramponnait à lui."
From the website of Herman van Veen, singer, about his own birth.
http://www.hermanvanveen.com/fr/Ivw.htm
References to luggage carriers
==============================
"H.A. and Margret escaped on bicycle from German-occupied Paris, with
just their winter coats and several picture books (including a draft
of Curious George, then called Fifi) strapped to the racks."
http://www.geometry.net/basic_f_bk/4-h.html
~~~~
In La Seyne-sur-Mer in 1944, an orchestra's trophies were saved from
looting by being hidden in a crateful of vegetables under a demijohn
of wine, and transported on the luggage-carrier of a bike.
"Avec le maximum de précautions, j'entassai nos trésors au fond d'un
cageot et les dissimulai sous des paquets de légumes. Le chargement
sur le porte-bagages de mon vélo fut complété par une petite bonbonne
de vin."
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/marius.autran/glossaire/seynoise/chapitre_7.html
~~~~
In 1940s France an artist only needed an easel on his luggage-carrier
to explain his movements.
"Il lui suffit d'arrimer un chevalet sur le porte-bagages de son vélo
pour justifier ses déplacements. "
http://monsite.ifrance.com/edechambost/Tillon-Tandem.htm#velo
~~~~
Transmitter in a suitcase on a luggage-carrier in 1943-4:
"L'émetteur était dans une valise noire attachée à mon porte-bagages."
http://membres.lycos.fr/codechamplain/histoire3.htm
~~~~
1940 bike with a sackful of clothes tied to the frame, and a suitcase
and another package strapped to the luggage carrier:
"Je ficelle ce sac sur le cadre de la bicyclette au-dessus du
pédalier. La valise et un autre paquet sont solidement fixés au
porte-bagages par des courroies de cuir. Le vélo est bien chargé mais
qu'importe."
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/fx.goutalier/120640.htm
~~~~
Wartime novel set in Normandy mentions a case on the carrier:
"Sa valise sur le porte-bagages arrière "
http://www.abebooks.fr/docs/ReadingRoom/Enigme/enigme1203.shtml
~~~~
1940 - a long journey with bag on the luggage carrier:
"Mon sac sur le porte-bagages du vélo, je roule. Paris est à 500
kilomètres derrière moi, Cahors a cent kilomètres au Sud."
http://lug.linguist.jussieu.fr/lug/lug0.html
~~~~
I also came across these photographs of bikes with carriers from the
right period, but from England and Italy.
England 1945 bike
http://www.sharpos-world.co.uk/mainindx/uk/indx/new/nw98/page03.htm
Italy - from the film "The Bicycle Thief", made in 1948
http://www.film.queensu.ca/Critical/Photos/BicycleThief/BTBike.JPG
from:
http://www.film.queensu.ca/Critical/Bonikowski.html
I hope this patchwork of evidence suits your purposes, Shauna. Please
don't hesitate to ask if there's anything I could clarify, whether
it's a broken link, a French phrase or anything else. I'll do my best
to help!
Let me wish you very good luck with the novel - hope it's going well.
Best wishes - Leli
Searches were mostly varying combinations of these terms:
"sur * porte-bagages" "au porte-bagages" porte-bagages
vélo bicyclette
"guerre mondiale" "paris occupée" "france occupée"
1940 OR 1941 OR 1942 OR 1943 OR 1945 OR 1945
There may be more references to be found combing through these search results:
://www.google.co.uk/search?q=paris+OR+france+%22sur+*+porte-bagages%22+1940+OR+1941+OR+1942+OR+1943+OR+1945+OR+1945&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Google+Search&meta= |
/aout_2003/expo_cyclo_2003_22.jpg){kind=link}
