Coubertin (Pierre de)/ United States/ Canada/ Gymnastics/ Pa - Lot 90

Coubertin (Pierre de)/ United States/ Canada/ Gymnastics/ Paris/ Seine. The indefatigable baron explored, traveled, wrote, drew and observed without rest, especially during the 1890s. He was in his thirties, and his fabulous power is reflected in these two fine volumes, in which the United States is omnipresent:a) Universités Transatlantiques" Hachette, 1890, 380 pages, in-12 (18.5x12.2). Surveying the United States in all directions, discovering the educational system of the most varied Universities from McGill, Cornell, UCLA, Victoria, Yale, Montreal, Washington, to Baltimore, could have been a mortal pensum. Thanks to his talent and perspicacity, we are treated to a lively narrative of encounters and discoveries (Quesnay de Beaurepaire), including sports. The providential guide to the New World at the end of the 1880s, and to bringing it back to us without vertigo. It's an authentic feat that we still recommend reading. BE; b) "La gymnastique utilitaire, Sauvetage, Défense, Locomotion, 2nd edition, Ed.Alcan, 1905. In-12 (18.5x11.8), paperback, 154 pages. One of the Baron's least-known, most rhythmic and surprising books. Here, he pays his own way, and we finally have the impression of touching and hearing him. This perfect guide for the resourceful, dedicated to the President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, is particularly noteworthy for its two-year sports lesson plans, and for the 18-month sports diary of a young Parisian working in the administration between May 31, 1903 and December 1, 1904. This gives 27 swimming sessions (he swims in the Seine), 9 horseback outings, 3 bicycle excursions (hello Nini-Patte-en-l'air), 3 rowing sessions, 10 gym sessions, 5 of which in the Bois de Boulogne, 11 fencing or boxing sessions, 2 skating sessions, I car excursion, and a 41 km walk... An expense of 156f50 (annual subscription to "L'Auto", 20f), which Pierrot doesn't regret. Another piece of anthology, "The Master and the Gymnasium"...In view of Captain de Lancrenon's raid to St Petersburg by perissory boat and bicycle, and its Coubertinian conclusion (daily expenditure is 4f by perissory boat, 5f by bicycle and 8f on horseback), one could almost deduce that, alongside the great maxims of the Baron, a mischievous mind might add: "a cabbage is a cabbage...". In short, Desgrange's "Head and Legs" don't exist next to them. BE.