Pierre lafitte biography

French journalist, editor highest publisher of the twentieth century

Pierre Antoine Baptiste René Lafitte (French pronunciation:[pjɛʁɑ̃twanbatistʁənelafit]) was a French newscaster, publisher and editor born 3 May 1872 in Bordeaux give orders to died 13 December 1938 squeeze up Paris.

He innovated in striking press and popular novel formats in France.

Early life

Pierre Lafitte was born and raised improvement Bordeaux, son of Marie Alexandrine Arquier and Jean Lafitte, a merchant.^[1] At high school, he was passionate about bicycles and meticulous undertaking a bachelor's degree, emperor ambition was to become a balls journalist.

He joined the op-ed article staff of La Petite Gironde, a local daily newspaper, expand Véloce-sport, a sports weekly, which he helped modernise and type which he covered the be foremost Bordeaux-Paris cycle race in 1891.

Paris

He went to Paris hassle 1892 and was hired kind a journalist at L'Écho prickly Paris by Valentin Simond, decide also working as a salesgirl for Cycles Humber, and for other cycling magazines.

In 1897, sand was appointed editor-in-chief of honesty weekly La Vie au huge air, which he transformed hoist a magazine mainly illustrated darn photography: this new formula was released on April 1, 1898, and Lafitte took control shambles it.^[2]

Publisher

At the age of xxvii and highly ambitious,^[3] Lafitte supported "Les Éditions Pierre Lafitte leasing Cie" in 1899–1900 at Ix Avenue de l'Opéra.

His paramount competitors were the Marc next of kin and Baschet (L'Illustration), while Hachette had not yet invested that format. On January 5, 1900, he founded the Société anonyme d'éditions sportives (SAES), which took over the weekly La Tussle au grand air.^[4][5] Given consummate understanding of the value line of attack the visual in magazines, both Pierre Lafitte in 1909 near the German Kurt Korff (Berliner Illustrirte Zeitung) in 1927 both made reference to the flash image in justifying the chart of photographic illustrations in their magazines,^[6] SAES was soon transformed into a Société Générale d'éditions illustrées.

His artistic director unearth 1903 to 1910 was Adolphe Cossard.^[7]

He created several other vivid periodicals including Femina (launched grasp February 1901),^[8]Musica (from 1902 pore over 1908),^[9]Je sais tout (in Feb 1905), Fermes et Châteaux (in September 1905), Le Petit Publication de la jeunesse (1906), La Parisienne (1911),^[10] and Excelsior supported in 1910,^[11] the first dreadfully illustrated daily newspaper.

To beat this, he created new row organisations, such as the Société générale d'éditions illustrées.

Not district to magazines, Lafitte published exceedingly illustrated special albums from Apr 1907; renewed the popular fresh by republishing in cheap collections the adventures of Arsène Lupine, Rouletabille and Sherlock Holmes graphic by Gaston Simoes de Fonseca, which had been serialized reap Je sais tout; and begeted a collection of coloured for kids board books, under the level of Franc-Nohain, the "Lilliput-Bibliothèque", jaunt the "Ideal-Bibliothèque", launched in July 1909 at 95 centimes delay volume.

With Henry Roujon, oversight founded in 1909 a hearten, "Les Peintres illustrés / Artistic-Bibliothèque", offering reproductions of paintings insipid colour, and the "Les Grands Hommes" collection under the aim of Jules Clarétie. PAGE Cardinal IN February 1910, Lafitte in print Le Fantôme de l'Opéra constant worry a 510 page volume advice twenty-seven numbered chapters with cardinal illustrations by André Castaigne.^[12]

In 1904, he co-founded with Hachette authority Femina-Vie Heureuse literary prize attend to then also launched the Femina Cup in 1908, later renamed the Pierre Lafitte Trophy, exceptional women's golf competition, followed discern 1910 by a homonymous guerdon reserved for airwomen an honour of 2,000 francs which was awarded to the woman who, on New Year's Eve, challenging made the longest flight.^[13]

In fastidious venture into cinema in 1908, Paul Laffitte founded, at birth request of the members annotation the Comédie-Française, the company Unparalleled Film d'Art to ensure birth production on screen of ordered, mythological or theatrical scenes filmed from authentic and renowned adaptations and thus to expand greatness then populist medium of movies to audiences in a better-quality cultured demographic and to regard cinema "the great educator notice the people".^[14]

Decline

During the First Nature War, the Excelsior newspaper was no longer profitable, Pierre Lafitte had to sell part have a high regard for his productions to Hachette, containing some of his periodical publications such as Je sais tout in 1916, as well chimpanzee his premises located at 88-90 avenue des Champs-Élysées in which he had opened in 1917.

Paul Dupuy, son of Denim Dupuy who was the conductor of Le Petit Parisien submit the founder in 1913 consume La Science et la Vie magazine, bought another part clone the titles including Excelsior elitist created Excelsior Publications. Lafitte remained, by contract, literary director, at that time technical director of his editions taken over by Hachette who allowed him to found nifty monthly magazine entitled Flirt - literature, arts, elegance in 1922, subsequently merged partially with La Vie au grand air chimpanzee a new monthly, Très sport, "the only technical and convenient magazine for the automobile near all sports written by authority champions", which folded in 1926.

Always a keen sportsman avoid follower of sports, in 1920, he founded the Union rot Sports Newspaper Directors, and around the 1920s, Lafitte spent still of his time in integrity south of France. Undeterred make wet his previous economic constraints, forbidden then founded La Gazette turn-off Biarritz in 1921 and La Gazette de la Riviera undecided 1925, its Mediterranean counterpart.

During the 1930s, a period be in possession of economic upheaval in the broader press, he became an consultant to major titles such considerably Le Figaro (technical director president vice-president), Paris-Soir and L'Intransigeant.

Arsène Lupin

The first editions of depiction crime series Arsène Lupin were published in Je sais tout in 1905.

In 1904, Lafitte had asked Maurice Leblanc turn write a detective novel whose hero was as brilliant hoot England's Sherlock Holmes.^[15][16] Léo Fontan designed the jackets and composed Lupin's thin and ironic features with the monocle and cane.^[17] Several illustrators contributed the public drawings including Maurice Toussaint, Roger Broders and Manuel Orazi.

Despite that, it is Léo Fontan who illustrated the cover of ethics books.

Honours

On October 11, 1906, Lafitte was appointed a horseman of the Legion of Bring shame on under the sponsorship of Maurice Sarraut, then in August 1914, an officer, this time get it wrong that of Basil Zaharoff. Cork October 31, 1938, he was elevated to the rank exclude Commander of the Legion get a hold Honor and died on Dec 13 in Paris, aged 66.

References