Post-War Paris through the eyes of photojournalist Paul Almasy

  • Published

One of the great chroniclers of 1950s and 1960s Paris, Paul Almasy, born in 1906, took about 120,000 black-and-white photos before he died at the age of 97.

Image source, Paul Almasy / akg-images
Image caption,

Fairground, circa 1960

Almasy, from Hungary, studied political science in Austria and Germany.

During World War Two, as a Swiss press correspondent based in Monaco, he reported from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and France, describing Paris as a city of "past, present, and future".

Image source, Paul Almasy / akg-images
Image caption,

Passenger in the metro station Abbesses, circa 1965

Almasy adopted Paris as his home after the capital's liberation in 1945 and became a French citizen in 1956, following the failed uprising against the Soviet-backed Hungarian government.

Image source, Paul Almasy / akg-images
Image caption,

Woman in a street cafe, place Saint-Michel, circa 1956

He used a Leica and, later, a Rollei twin-lens reflex camera.

Image source, Paul Almasy / akg-images
Image caption,

Bill sticker, 1950s

Post-War Paris was a place of developing culture and thought in areas such as literature, philosophy, fashion and New Wave cinema.

Image source, Paul Almasy / akg-images
Image caption,

Young couple, Vert-Galant, Île de la Cité, 1961

From 1952, Almasy worked for international organisations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the World Health Organization.

Image source, Paul Almasy / akg-images
Image caption,

Nuns of the Order of St Vincent, 1952

A new book, Paris: The City of Light in the 50s & 60s, focuses on Almasy's photos.

Image source, Paul Almasy / akg-images
Image caption,

Taxi driver, Place Pigalle, 1958

Image source, Paul Almasy / akg-images
Image caption,

Café La Colisée, Champs-Élysées, 1956

Image source, Paul Almasy / akg-images
Image caption,

Venue de l'Opéra, 1950s

Image source, Paul Almasy / akg-images
Image caption,

Romy Schneider and Alain Delon, 1961

The City of Light in the 50s & 60s is published by teNeues

All photographs courtesy teNeues.