In 1907, the Naval Academy library began a subscription to a new periodical that debuted in Paris on January 10. Published fortnightly, La Vie maritime et fluviale (Maritime and River Life) promised to justify its title. “It will not only deal with questions relating to the military fleet of this country, it will also deal with those concerning its merchant navy, its inland waterways, its pleasure boating. Our ambition is great: we have the firm intention of not appearing boring to anyone and we wish to interest all those who will do us the honor of reading us.” Correspondents were established in foreign ports to provide information on happenings there, and the magazine promised to publish translations of important articles from reviews in other countries. “Thus we will ignore nothing of the progress made and the events that have occurred elsewhere, and, after having read, we will be able to better judge what is being done at home.” Engravings, plans, diagrams, and photographs would illustrate the text. “We will not shrink from any sacrifice so that La Vie maritime et fluviale is always true and attractive.”
Detail of the cover of the February 10,1913 issue. Note the stamp at left under the title indicating that the library received the publication on March 19.
Two significant events that occurred in the publication’s inaugural year were the explosion of the French battleship Iéna in drydock and the maiden voyage of the Cunard transatlantic liner Lusitania. Numerous articles appeared in the aftermath of the deadly explosion at Toulon, the cause of which was attributed to the instability of Poudre B, a nitrocellulose-based smokeless powder. The Lusitania prompted pieces on the folly of large ocean liners and whether speed or comfort was more important in a transatlantic crossing. At the time, the great maritime nations were in a contest to build ever larger passenger liners that could cross the ocean swiftly. The Lusitania, on her second voyage from Liverpool, became the first vessel to cross the Atlantic in under five days.
Pages covering the explosion of the battleship Iéna at Toulon.
As one would expect in a publication devoted mostly to naval matters, many articles discussed the latest developments in submarines, torpedoes, and aviation. At the same time, the magazine featured articles on canals and ports, wireless telegraphy, underwater photography, steamship companies, and French overseas colonies. Each issue contained numerous photographs, from naval vessels to royal yachts to a new dredge for the Suez Canal.
The German Imperial yacht Hohenzollern and the new dredge for the Suez Canal in 1907.
Royal Navy floatplane, flown by Commander Charles Rumney Samson, from the July 25,1912 issue.
Aerial view of the port of Dunkirk, 1913.
Advertisements for German companies appearing in the magazine up to the outbreak of war in 1914.
While articles appeared from time to time regarding the naval arms race between Great Britain and Germany, there was no sense that Europe was on the brink of a titanic cataclysm. The July 25, 1914 issue featured the usual advertisements for F. Schichau of Elbing and Danzig, Fried. Krupp, and the Hamburg-Amerika line. By the time the next issue appeared on August 10, the great powers were at war. La Vie maritime et fluviale had lost communication with its press at Lille, which fell into German hands in October, but continued to publish through the end of the year, the last issue appearing on Christmas Day. On its cover, the magazine stated, “The year that is ending will have seen the birth of the greatest conflagration of peoples that humanity has had to record so far….The immeasurable pride of a man [Kaiser Wilhelm II] has been sufficient to unleash this giant fight.”
Detail of first issue of 1919 announcing the publication's return.
German and French submarines from the April 25,1919 issue.
On March 10, 1919, La Vie maritime et fluviale reappeared “after four years of enforced silence.” Among the articles that year were ones related to developments in aviation, the destruction of the German fleet at Scapa Flow, and the mysterious disappearance of the USS Cyclops in 1918. Although La Vie maritime et fluviale continued to be published through 1925, the Naval Academy library apparently decided to discontinue its subscription at the end of 1919. This now-rare publication provides an interesting glimpse from a French perspective into naval and other maritime developments in the years prior to World War I.
Source:
La Vie maritime et fluviale, vols. 1-8, 13; Jan. 10, 1907-Dec. 25, 1919.
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