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Maigret Gallery

Liège 2003 - Simenon Centenary Maigret - Early U.S. paperbacks Penguins U.K. paperbacks Maigret dust jackets Maigret in Poland... Movie Posters of Simenon films Simenon / Maigret postage stamps

Simenon 10€ commemorative coin Simenon bronze medal Simenon telephone card Maigret theme music Maigret Statue at Delfzijl Maigret Locations Maigret in comics Simenon's bookplate

Maigret - Early U.S. paperbacks Maigrets of the 25c - 50c era Paperback Covers showing the changing trends of the '40s, '50s and '60s Paperbacks of the '70s: Curtis, Avon, Popular Library

Penguins

UK paperbacks 1950-1965 (non-Penguin)

dust-jackets

Maigret in Poland bookcovers newspaper serial headers

Movie Posters of Simenon films

Simenon / Maigret postage stamps 3ème Salon BD & Philatélie / 15 & 16 octobre 94 / Caserne Fonck - Liège The three (1994) images of Simenon are based on this portrait by the Belgian artist Désiré Roegiest. original drawing by Désiré Roegiest Three 1994 stamps honoring Simenon were issued simultaneously in France, Belgium and Switzerland. France - 1994 Scott #2443 Belgium - 1994 Scott #1567 Switzerland - 1994 Scott #948 The background of the French issue, engraved by André Otto, is the Quai des Orfèvres; for the Belgian stamp, Liège, Simenon's birthplace, engraved by Paul Huybrechts; and the Château d'Echandens, near Lausanne, where Simenon lived for many years, on the Swiss stamp, engraved by Pierre Schopfer. France - 1996 Scott #B674 Fictional French detectives: Maigret, Fantômas, Joseph Rouletabille, Rocambole, Arsène Lupin, Nestor Burma. San Marino - 1979 Scott #949 [80 - Perry Mason, 150 - Nero Wolfe, 170 - Ellery Queen, 220 - Sherlock Holmes] Nicaragua - 1972 (Scott #C810, 50th Anniversary of Interpol) [5c Lord Peter Wimsey, 10c Philip Marlowe, 15c Sam Spade, 20c Perry Mason, 25c Nero Wolfe, 35c C. Auguste Dupin, 40c Ellery Queen, 50c Father Brown, 60c Charlie Chan, 1 cor Hercule Poirot, 2 cor Sherlock Holmes]       Belgium Centenerary of Simenon's Birth Year issued April 28, 2003 Any others? More Fictional Detectives on Stamps

Simenon 10€ commemorative coin 2003 As part of the centenary events, Belgium issued this commemorative 10-euro silver coin with Simenon's image [click to enlarge]

Simenon bronze medal This was reserved in the '60s for the first subscribers to a SIMENON collection of a famous Swiss publishing house, Cercle du Bibliophile. As Simenon was opposed to its distribution, since his authorization had not been requested, it was withdrawn, and very few copies are found. (In a gray velvet case.)

 

Simenon's Bookplate Comprendre et ne pas juger To understand and judge not In Mattieu Rutten's Simenon, ses origines - sa vie - son œuvre, he shows a copy and identifies the artist as the Russian engraver, Victor Chapil. The Simenon exposition in Paris, 1982, had a copy in the exhibit catalog, with the comment (p. 43), "La devise de l'ex-libris de G.S., Comprendre et ne pas juger, peut s'appliquer aussi bien au commissaire qu'au romancier." [The motto of Simenon's ex-libris, To understand and not judge, can be applied as well to Maigret as to the novelist.] In Brilliant Together in Paris, John Leonard's review of Pierre Assouline's biography of Simenon, he writes, "...when, in 1928, he first imagined Maigret, the cop who seeks 'to understand and not to judge.'" Leslie Garis, in Simenon's Last Case, writes: "Maigret's motto is 'to understand and not to judge,' and indeed what elevates him in the genre is his passion to know the human heart..." John Boe, in Simenon, Apollo and Dionysus: "Like a detached analyst, Inspector Maigret doesn't judge, he only unveils...." Michel Lemoine, in La Méthode d'enquête selon Maigret, "on ne peut manquer de rapprocher cette morale de la compréhension de celle de Simenon lui-même, pour qui comprendre importe davantage que juger." And in my translation, The Method of investigation according to Maigret, "one cannot fail to come closer to the understanding of Simenon himself, for whom to understand is more important than to judge." Waclaw Rapak, Une lecture existentielle...: "Adrien Josset, l'inculpé, celui que le commissaire Maigret veut comprendre et non pas juger..." [Adrien Josset, the accused, whom Commissioner Maigret wants to understand and not judge...]. Ana Gonzalez-Salvador, Le Délit et ses corps: Maigret contre l'arrêt: "...ne pas juger mais découvrir la vérité, «comprendre les gens»..."; ["not to judge, but to discover the truth, 'to understand people'"]. It is reproduced large on the back cover of Maurice Piron's L'Univers de Simenon, and smaller on the front cover. The back cover says "Comprendre et non pas juger... establishes the sense of the works of a novelist like no other..."

Simenon Telephone Card Belgian telephone card from the 1993 Liège Expo - 26/6 - 31/10. (Thanks, Willy!)

Maigret Theme Here's some good news for those looking for the Maigret theme - a copy the sheet music of The Maigret Theme by Ron Grainer, from the 1960-63 BBC TV "Inspector Maigret Series" (Rupert Davies) as recorded by Ron Grainer on Warner Bros. Records. Click on the cover for a full-size jpg image, and on page 1 and page 2 to see the music. (© 1960 by Langham Music Ltd. Published by Erle Music Ltd, 50, New Bond Street, London, W.1) A friend of mine made a midi file (8k) from the sheet music that you can play here. Jaak Verdoodt has sent an mpeg (1705k) of the complete Ron Grainer version as released by Warner Brothers, here. And here's a wav file (423k) of the Maigret theme from the French TV series with Bruno Cremer (originally found at the Spree TV Themes site, now apparently defunct). Album covers from the 1963 Decca and 1960 Warner Bros. recordings. Click for close-ups of the covers and Ron Grainer's notes.

The Maigret Statue at Delfzijl

Maigret Locations Place des Vosges setting of L'Ombre Chinoise [Shadow on the Courtyard, Maigret Mystified], L'amoureux de Madame Maigret [Madame Maigret's Admirer] and others. photo, P. Bonnard (based on Leconte, Plan de Paris, 1961) Maigret on the Boulevard Richard-Lenoir Boulevard Richard-Lenoir and Rue du Chemin-Vert are highlighted. The upper circle is close to the area of No. 130 Boulevard Richard-Lenoir, too far north to match the descriptions in the various stories. [Fenton Bresler's The Mystery of Georges Simenon contains a photograph of a two-story building, with the caption "Maigret's 'home' at 130 Blvd. Richard-Lenoir, Paris; he lived on the non-existent fourth floor."] The lower circle, approximately Nos. 41-51. At the upper left corner is the Place de la République; at bottom left is the Place de la Bastille. Also at the lower left can be seen the Place des Vosges, Maigret's sometimes address and the location of L'Ombre Chinoise and other stories.

Maigret in Comics

Maigret et son mort Maigret tend un piège Maigret chez les Flamands Maigret et la danseuse du «Gai-Moulin» Maigret et le corps sans tête French - 1992-1997 A series of 5 harcover bande dessinée Maigrets, published between 1992 and 1997, the first of which was translated into at least seven languages (but not English): Maigret et son mort (Maigret's Dead Man, Maigret's Special Murder); story adaptation, Odile Reynaud; design, Philippe Wurm; color, Martine de Bast; Paris scenes, Frank Brichau. ©1992 Éditions Claude Lefrancq. and: Maigret tend un piège (1993) Maigret chez les Flamands (1994) Maigret et la danseuse du «Gai-Moulin» (1995) Maigret et le corps sans tête (1997)

Maigret et l'affaire Nahour, French - n.d. 6/30/04 – Another bd Maigret, Maigret and the Nahour Case, drawn by Rumeu and adapted by Camille Dulac: There's no date indicated, it's 8½" × 11½", 46 pages, softbound, with this publishing info on page 2: Editions Nuit et Jour 82 rue Paul Vaillant Couterier Levallois-Perret 92300 Tel: (1) 739.35.35 Directeur de la Publication: J.N. Beyler Imprimé par Montsouris-Massy Distribuées par les NMPP N° de commission paritaire en cours Although "Le Pendu de Saint-Pholien" is promised as "coming soon" on the back cover, apparently it was never published. On the title page it says that it appeared first in a magazine or newspaper, "The New Detective": "Maigret et l'affaire Nahour" a été pré-publié dans le Nouveau Détective. Click on the cover image (looks a lot like Gabin, doesn't he?) for a sample page.

Le port des brumes, Portuguese - 1955 click to enlarge Le port des brumes was printed as a comic strip in Portugese in 1955. It was published in Século Ilustrado, No. 935, December 3 1955 and following editions. O Século Ilustrado was a weekly supplement to O Século, a Lisbon newspaper. It seems to be the oldest Maigret comic outside of France...

Earliest French Maigret comics - 1950-53 The artist of the Portuguese strip above was Jacques Blondeau, whose Maigret image appeared in this Forum as a "Mini-Mystery" in 1999! He worked then for Opera Mundi, which produced the Portuguese one as well. Blondeau drew 14 Maigret episodes between 1950 and 1953: Le chien jaune, Le port des brumes, La pipe de Maigret, L'amie de Mme Maigret, Maigret au Picratt's, Maigret en vacances, Maigret en meublé, Maigret Lognon et les gangsters, Maigret et la vieille dame, Maigret se trompe, Maigret et la guinguette, Le révolver de Maigret, Maigret et la jeune morte and Maigret tend un piège. These appeared in numerous newspapers, including Samedi Soir. (Presumably the Portuguese version of Le port des brumes was the French one with the words redrawn...)

Thanks to Jérôme Devémy of Paris
for much of the comics, Place des Vosges postcard, and some of the
stamp information. And to Ian Slater for the Grainer Decca album scans.