Reims - Women's Soccer in the 1920's
The municipal library of Reims was founded in the late eighteenth century with the books belonging to religious orders. In 1764, following the Suppression of the Society of Jesus in France, the books of Reims Jesuit College were confiscated. During the French Revolution, libraries of Reims abbeys and of the chapter of the Cathedral of Reims were also confiscated and added to the collections of Reims public library. The collections were first installed on the first floor of City Hall, where a small reading room opened to the public in 1818.
The First World War marked a profound break in the history of the library. On May 3, 1917, an incendiary shell destroyed the town hall and a large part of the collections. The most valuable works (nearly 100 000 documents) were put away before the War and thus preserved from any damage. In 1918, the city of Reims was devastated.
Founded in 1910 by philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace decided after the WWI to provide a library to the cities particularly battered by bombings. In France, the city of Reims was chosen to be given a Carnegie library.
The library had a special exhibit of Women in Football, in honor of the World Cup. It was fascinating.
Carnegie Library of Reims
The Art Deco decor of the Carnegie Library, the harmony of its proportions, the elegance of its architecture made it worthy of inclusion in the French inventory of Monuments historiques.
The library was designed as a temple dedicated to knowledge. The visitor enters the building by climbing a few stairs, symbolizing an elevation to knowledge.
At the entrance, two pilasters without capitals are surmounted by a classicist pediment decorated with engraved flowering shrubs and marked with the iron letters of the word "Bibliothèque" (library). The engraved motto of the library reads in Latin "Educunt fructum folia" (flowers lead to fruit). Symbolizing the flowering of mind.
The entire porch was presented at the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes and won a gold medal.
Women's Football in the 1920's
The earliest known women's football match involving the French was a women's French team versus the Dick, Kerr's Ladies team from Preston, England, played at Goodison Park, Liverpool on Boxing Day 1920, attracted a crowd of 53,000 with another 10–15,000 reportedly turned away because the ground was full.
At some point in the 20's women were banned from playing football. A truly terrible decision, obviously made by old white men.
