venerdì 20 agosto 2021

Even at the time of the 12 km per hour, everybody had got something against cars in the streets.

 

Leipziger Illustrierte Zeitung, September 1888


One morning in June 1898, the faithful buyers of the Journal from Paris could read, not without shivering and shuddering with indignation, a vibrant open letter that the journalist Hugues Le Roux addressed to the prefect of the police of the city Charles Blanc:

"Last night I risked being massacred with my wife and my children by a gentleman on a car that was running at the speed of a locomotive... I have the honor to tell you that from today I go around with a revolver in my pocket and that I will shoot the first of these rabid dogs that, mounted on a car or on an oil-powered tricycle, will flee after risking to massacre me or my beloved ones... "

These were the words that induced the prefect Blanc to grant the first driving license in history, something that almost makes us smile, nowadays.
But why, if by one side the first cars won the enthusiasm of those who could afford them, on the other side, the public opinion was lashing out at those first reckless motorists, because the less savy citizens looked at cars as hell machines, man-made in collaboration with Satan?
The appearance of the first horseless 'carriages' in the beginning of the 90's of the XIXth century on the roads of Europe even spread panic both among people and among the horses that, until that moment, used to be the undisturbed masters of every street, often took fright as soon as they saw them.




This led a French inventor, Joseph Mille, seriously worried by what was happening on the streets in those years, to hide the car engine inside the body of a metal horse mounted on a driving wheel and which was powered by steam.
Horses, seeing something that looked like them, would no longer be frightened.
The steam-horse, however, was never built, and the horses adapted to take second place on all the roads of the world and to give way to cars.
Having a look at France only, if in 1892 it had no more than a hundred motor vehicles, in 1900 there were about two thousand cars which became the double only three years later.
In addition to increasing in number, cars increased in power and speed, so much so that if at first they didn't exceed 10-15 km per hour, a few years later those kilometers became 20 and even 30.
Accidents caused by cars, however, were quite rare in those days and were mainly due to the other road users, since both people walking and coaches did not have any kind of road discipline and these last ones made their horses run indifferently from right to left.
Until accidents between cars and carriages became daily news.
And so we return to the letter written by the journalist Le Roux, from which we started, which not only induced the police to issue driving licenses, but also to impose the maximum speed of 12 km per hour in the city, 

"Speed more than enough for the moment "

wrote the sports newspaper La locomotion automobile, commenting on the new decree.

"Farther on in time, when there will be no longer a hippomobile circulation, if this day would ever come, we could also ask for the 16-20 kilometers per hour."

If around 1895 some French cities, such as Nice for example, thought of defending themselves from that new devilry by prohibiting the circulation of steam cars within the city walls, ten years later the rulers were forced to review their decisions.
Transit permissions were granted to electric or petroleum motor vehicles under the following conditions: vehicle inspection by the competent municipal offices; examination of the capacity and skill of the drivers made by the same offices; speed limit of 10 km per hour.
Then it was necessary to register the vehicles, because their number became more and more consistent: now no one was surprised anymore to see them circulating more and more numerous, ever faster, more and more different in shape and color.


A typical working day in Oxford Street at the end of the 19th century, looking east, with New Bond Street off to the right. We can see omnibuses, cars, hansom cabs, and delivery carts.


In 1908, 40,000 cars were circulating in France, about 60,000 in England.
But the opponents of the cars didn't want to give up and in Paris a league against the excesses of the automobile was born, led by a renowned jurist, who, on December 8th, 1908, sent a letter to all car manufacturers in which he prayed them, for the good of humanity, to stop building those mechanical monsters.
I wonder what those gentlemen would say today, after more than a century, if they would find themselves having to deal with traffic in any European or American city at a rush hour, thing at which we are used to, alas!



A CURIOSITY JUST FOR YOU!

In the USA the situation was a little different.
At the start of the XIXth century, we could have said that "AUTOMOBILES ARE EATING HORSES" which doesn't sound so good, but it's almost literally true.
In 1890s New York City was awash in horse manure, shin-deep, and the predictions were that the city's first floors would soon be "manured".
And maybe the arrival of the first automobiles was greeted with joy, there.
By 1900 there were a small number of cars in the entire United States, they were powered by gas or steam or electricity; in the year 1905 there were 23,000 cars in NYC alone and three years later there were 100,000 cars and 100,000 horses!
The last horse-drawn tram was seen in NYC in 1917.


New York City: 5th Avenue on Easter Sunday in 1900 and in 1913 - U.S. Bureau of Public Roads. Photographer unknown.



Thank you once again and always for following me with affection, 
dear readers and friends, 
and may the remainder of your week, 
and your weekend ahead, be filled with joy and fulfillment.
See you soon 










Anche all'epoca dei 12 km orari, tutti avevano qualcosa contro le auto che circolavano per le strade.



FOTO 1 - Leipziger Illustrierte Zeitung, September 1888


Una mattina del giugno 1898, gli affezionati del Journal di Parigi poterono leggere, non senza tremare e fremere d'indignazione, una vibrante lettera aperta che il giornalista Hugues Le Roux indirizzò al prefetto della polizia della città Charles Blanc:

"Ieri sera ho rischiato di essere massacrato con mia moglie e i miei figli da un signore su una macchina che correva alla velocità di una locomotiva... ho l'onore di dirvi che da oggi vado in giro con una rivoltella in tasca e che sparerò al primo di questi cani rabbiosi che, montati su di un'auto o su di un triciclo a petrolio, fuggiranno dopo aver rischiato di massacrare me o i miei cari... "

Queste parole indussero il prefetto Blanc a concedere la prima patente di guida della storia, cosa che oggi ci fa quasi sorridere.
Ma perché, se da una parte le prime auto conquistarono l'entusiasmo di chi poteva permettersele, dall'altra l'opinione pubblica si scagliava contro quei primi automobilisti spericolati, perché i cittadini meno smaliziati vedevano le auto come macchine dannate costruite in collaborazione con Satana?
La comparsa delle prime 'carrozze senza cavalli' all'inizio degli anni '90 del XIX secolo per le strade d’Europa seminò addirittura il panico sia tra la gente che tra i cavalli che, fino a quel momento, padroni indisturbati di ogni strada, spesso si imbizzarrivano non appena le vedevano.


FOTO - 2

FOTO - 3


Il che indusse un inventore francese, Joseph Mille, seriamente impensierito da ciò che stava accadendo per le strade in quegli anni, a nascondere il motore delle automobili dentro il corpo di un cavallo in metallo montato su di una ruota motrice e che era alimentato a vapore: i cavalli, nel vedere un loro simile, non si sarebbero più dovuti spaventare.
Il cavallo a vapore, tuttavia, non fu mai costruito e i cavalli si adattarono a passare in secondo piano su tutte le strade del mondo e a lasciare il posto alle auto.
Guardando solo alla Francia, se nel 1892 essa non contava più di un centinaio di autoveicoli, nel 1900 le auto in circolazione erano circa duemila e diventarono il doppio solo tre anni dopo.
Oltre ad aumentare di numero, le auto aumentavano in potenza e velocità, tanto che se all'inizio non superavano i 10-15 km orari, pochi anni dopo quei chilometri diventavano 20 e addirittura 30.
Gli incidenti provocati dalle auto, però, erano piuttosto rari a quei tempi ed erano dovuti principalmente agli altri utenti della strada, poiché sia i pedoni che i vetturini non avevano alcun tipo di disciplina stradale e questi ultimi facevano correre indifferentemente i loro cavalli da destra a sinistra.
Fino a quando gli incidenti tra auto e carrozze divennero cronaca quotidiana.
E così torniamo alla lettera scritta dal giornalista Le Roux, da cui siamo partiti, che non solo ha indotto la polizia a rilasciare patenti di guida, ma anche a imporre la velocità massima di 12 km orari in città, 

"Velocità più che sufficiente per il momento” 

scriveva il quotidiano sportivo La locomozione automobile, commentando il nuovo decreto.

"Più tardi, quando non ci sarà più la circolazione ippomobile, se mai questo giorno dovesse arrivare, potremmo chiedere anche i 16-20 chilometri orari".

Se intorno al 1895 alcune città francesi, come Nizza per esempio, pensarono di difendersi da quella nuova ‘diavoleria’ vietando la circolazione dei mezzi a vapore all'interno delle mura cittadine, dieci anni dopo i governanti furono costretti a rivedere le proprie decisioni.
Le autorizzazioni al transito vennero rilasciate agli autoveicoli elettrici o petroliferi alle seguenti condizioni: revisione del veicolo da parte dei competenti uffici comunali; esame delle capacità e competenze degli autisti effettuato dagli stessi uffici; limite di velocità di 10 km orari.
Poi fu necessario immatricolare le automobili perché il loro numero diventava sempre più consistente: ormai nessuno si stupiva più di vederle circolare sempre più numerose, sempre più veloci, sempre più diverse per forma e colore.


FOTO 4 - Una tipica giornata di lavoro in Oxford Street alla fine del XIX secolo, guardando ad est, con New Bond Street sulla destra. Possiamo vedere omnibus, automobili, carrozze e carrelli per le consegne.


Nel 1908 circolavano 40.000 auto in Francia, circa 60.000 in Inghilterra.
Ma gli oppositori non vollero arrendersi e a Parigi nacque una lega contro gli eccessi dell'automobile, guidata da un noto giurista, che, l'8 dicembre 1908, inviò a tutte le case automobilistiche una lettera in cui li pregò, per il bene dell'umanità, di smettere di costruire quei mostri meccanici.
Chissà cosa direbbero quei signori oggi, dopo più di un secolo, se si trovassero a dover fare i conti con il traffico di una qualunque città europea o americana nell'ora di punta, cosa che per noi è diventata una consuetudine, purtroppo!



UNA CURIOSITA' SOLO PER VOI!

Negli Stati Uniti la situazione era leggermente diversa.
All'inizio del XIX secolo, si sarebbe potuto dire che "LE AUTOMOBILI STANNO MANGIANDO I CAVALLI" che non suona molto bene, ma corrisponde quasi letteralmente a quella che era la realtà.
Nel 1890 New York City era inondata di letame di cavallo, fino ad arrivare alla tibia, e si prevedeva che nell'arco di poco tempo i primi piani della città sarebbero stati "concimati".
E forse l'arrivo delle prime automobili lì fu salutato con gioia.
Nel 1900 il numero di autoveicoli in tutti gli Stati Uniti era molto contenuto, erano alimentati a gas, a vapore o a elettricità; nell'anno 1905 la sola New York contava già 23.000 automobili e tre anni dopo c'erano 100.000 auto e 100.000 cavalli!
L'ultimo tram trainato da cavalli passò a New York nel 1917.


FOTO 5 - New York City: la 5th Avenue la domenica di Pasqua del 1900 e del 1913 - U.S. Bureau of Public Roads. Fotografo sconosciuto.



Grazie ancora e sempre per seguirmi con affetto, 
cari amici e lettori, 
e possa il prosieguo della vostra settimana, e quindi il vostro weekend,
essere colmo di gioia e di gratificazione.
A presto 







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Michelle's OUR WORLD TUESDAY








29 commenti:

  1. Come è cambiato il mondo. Ciao Daniela e felice weekend!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. italiafinlandia
      Davvero mia cara... non solo, è cambiato ad una velocità impressionante!
      E che sia colmo di serenità anche il tuo weekend,
      dolce Luisella ✿⊱╮

      Elimina
  2. Indeed, people do not understand when they drive it is a weapon they are steering. While we cannot live without them in our modern world, in some ways i almost wish we could.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. messymimi
      I also do, my friend, I don't like cars and the busy life, even though we cannot avoid to use them, anymore, but I do it just when I cannot do otherwise!
      I wonder how amazing our world would still be with coaches and horses...
      May your day be filled with smiles, Dearie, thank you ♡ஐ♡

      Elimina
  3. You put so much thought into each of your writings. Your detail is impeccable. I am so grateful to come here and go through these posts. Thank yoi for friendship and informative information. Have a beautiful weekend.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. My Tata's Cottage
      I just love your comments, you always seem to make my day a bit brighter, and I heartily thank you for being so supportive, sweetie, you're such a bright light to me!
      •♥•♥•♥• With lots of love, blessings and hugs •♥•♥•♥•

      Elimina
  4. Hello, Dany
    What an interesting post on cars in history. Cars have really changed over the years. I enjoyed the images in this post. Now, the cars have to share the roads with people walking and jogging, bike riding and in our neighborhood we still see horses and the wild deer in the roads. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend! PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. eileeninmd
      I so appreciate your visit and your so kind words, Dearie! We also have a few managements nearby where you can rent horses for a while and have a ride with them amongst the woods, such a wonderful experience!
      But when we must go shopping to the town we do have to take our cars, of course!
      Thinking of you and sending wishes for a peaceful
      and beauty-filled weekend ༺❀༻

      Elimina
  5. I have never thought about all the horse manure left on the streets. Ladies in those fancy long dresses sidestepping their way across the streets. New York, for example, with the growing population in the early 20th century, would have a lot to contend with. How the roads and cars have changed. People's need to get where they want to quicker has certainly seen advances in automation through the years. I would rather like to drive around in one of those vintage cars at 12kms per hour. Of course one's picnic basket would have to be filled with refreshments for the long journey. =) Dany, as ever, you have delighted me with your entertaining and informative post. I always learn many new facts when I visit you. Another fabulous post; thank you.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Kim
      it is I who thank you for gracing my blog today, Dearest Friend, you're such a kindred soul!
      I'm always looking forward to your comments, they lift my spirits and fill my heart with gladness, thank you once again.
      May the remainder of your Sunday be blessed with Joy, my lovely Lady, and may your new week to come be as Beauty-ful as you ❥

      Elimina
    2. I forgot to write one thing you made me thinking about:
      honestly if nobody was in charge of removing the horse manure, I wonder how the Ladies walking along the streets could reduce their dresses, you're right!
      It was a problem, for sure...
      ~Xx

      Elimina
  6. I can only imagine what everyone must have felt back in the days of the cars just coming out, and the poor horses that had to run alongside. I can't imagine carrying a gun to shoot the people driving though, wow he really didn't want cars to become a thing. I wonder if it is somewhat like now they have those cars that can drive themselves, I am very leary of those, and think they are dangerous to have on the road, don't want a computer thinking for me. It is amazing how fast the amount on the road grew over such a short time. Thanks again for another very interesting read! Have a great rest of your weekend!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Conniecrafter
      as I just wrote to Kim, it is I who thank you who read my article with real interest, you truly fill my heart with satisfaction, indeed, what I feel sounds like a deep gratification.
      I enjoy myself while taking informations about what I want to write and then writing my Blog-posts, but it's when I read your comments that I do understand if I did someting pleasing for you to read!
      Your words are the prove I need to understand if my article is useful and, at the same time, it made you dream for a while.
      With utmost gratitude,
      I'm sending my dearest love from across the Ocean •♥✿ڿڰۣ✿♥•

      Elimina
  7. That really is funny looking back but it still holds true. The interstate highway in our area is more like a demolition derby, unsafe at any speed!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Brian
      you're right, still today there are such a lot of reckless drivers, and due to nowadays speed limits, the situation is going on being dangerous on some streets!
      Thank you, my friend, may your day be a good one ⊰✽*✽⊱

      Elimina
  8. We just took a trip to our boat and back for the weekend and the interstate was gridlock in places. Stop and go, then so and stop for miles. Nothing has changed.

    Thank you for joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.

    Have a fabulous Awww Monday and week. ♥

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Sandee
      It is I who thank you, Dearie, both for visiting and for taking the time to leave a comment!
      Hope you're having a great week so far ღ❀ღ

      Elimina
  9. I can imagine how terrified people were of the first automobiles. Now look how fast they go!

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Magical Mystical Teacher
      I suppose that the first cars were truly seen as something frightening, and to me still they are!
      Sending hugs and more hugs to you ♡❤♡

      Elimina
  10. What a fun look back at Automobiles! I love the history.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Mary, Jo Jo, Komo, Cinnamon & Angel Nellie
      what a wonderful big family you are, I welcome you all with the biggest hug ever!
      Glad you liked the article, and the history too,
      I'm wishing you a day filled with joy and smiles ❀≼♥≽❀

      Elimina
  11. ...nostalgic times! Thanks for sharing.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Tom
      Thanks for popping by ~ My little old world ~ and for being always so kind!
      Have a most beautiful remainder of your week ♥♡♥

      Elimina
  12. Interesting post! There are still some scary drivers on the roads.

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Linda
      you're so right, my friend, that's why I do prefer having a walk in the lawns and woods instead than driving on the road, but sometimes I cannot avoid it, and I'm not so relaxed, I'm relaxed when I eventually come back home!
      In the hope you're having the most pleasant of weeks,
      I thank you for being so supportive, my lovely Lady ஜ~Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ~ஜ

      Elimina
  13. Cars are such a part of our lives, we forget...

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Michele Morin
      thank you for gracing my Blog today, Dearest Friend!
      We aro so used to cars that we've almost forgotten what happened before they arrived in our world: they were seen almost as a revolutionary invention!
      Sending blessings of Joy from across the Ocean ಌ•❤•ಌ

      Elimina
  14. Another splendid post. Thank you so much. Yes we all need transportation. Grateful to have a vehcle. Take care

    RispondiElimina
    Risposte
    1. Anne M.Robinson
      It is I who thank you, and I do it from the bottom of my heart, sweetest friend of mine!
      Take care you too and enjoy the remainder of your week ✿⊱╮

      Elimina

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