Early 50s La Gazelle - Eau-de-Nil 🛠️ The Merlot Aftermath 🍷
- Thread starter Woz
- Start date
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
http://www.la-gazelle.com/histoire.htmlTranslation,
The transmission of the bicycle shop was a very beautiful story:
Fernand LEROY, then an employee of the shop, was promised by his boss that if they returned alive from their mobilisation for the First World War, the latter would offer him his shop. This happened and Fernand found himself a businessman in 1919. Fernand was also a bookmaker on bicycle races, with a great speed to go from site to site, which earned him the nickname of the Gazelle, or "la Gaz" to his friends. A reputation that will remain in the name of the shop.
La Gazelle is thus the oldest cycle shop in France, a source of pride for the town of Boulogne Billancourt. The Leroys also invested a lot in the club A.C.B.B. (Athletic Club de Boulogne Billancourt), as President and President of the cycling section, thus counting a lot in the history of cycling in Boulogne.
La Gazelle has also supported cycling teams as best it could, sometimes by providing bikes or jerseys, financial aid, or hosting the teams' race service for a time.
The transmission of the bicycle shop was a very beautiful story:
Fernand LEROY, then an employee of the shop, was promised by his boss that if they returned alive from their mobilisation for the First World War, the latter would offer him his shop. This happened and Fernand found himself a businessman in 1919. Fernand was also a bookmaker on bicycle races, with a great speed to go from site to site, which earned him the nickname of the Gazelle, or "la Gaz" to his friends. A reputation that will remain in the name of the shop.
La Gazelle is thus the oldest cycle shop in France, a source of pride for the town of Boulogne Billancourt. The Leroys also invested a lot in the club A.C.B.B. (Athletic Club de Boulogne Billancourt), as President and President of the cycling section, thus counting a lot in the history of cycling in Boulogne.
La Gazelle has also supported cycling teams as best it could, sometimes by providing bikes or jerseys, financial aid, or hosting the teams' race service for a time.
vcballbat
Senior Retro Guru
Now things get even more confusing.. was there another shop right in the heart of Paris..
https://forum.tontonvelo.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2170
https://forum.tontonvelo.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2170
Guinessisgoodforyou
rBotM Winner
Brain hurty.
grantoury
Kona Fan
Are you just leaving these everywhere to start us craving sausage?
Mickeyspinn
rBotM Winner
It's a crumb trail....usually a few empties scattered aswell
Now things get even more confusing.. was there another shop right in the heart of Paris..
https://forum.tontonvelo.com/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=2170
Yes - indeed two addresses are listed.
https://wiki.tontonvelo.com/index.php/Liste_des_marques_J_-_K_-_L
The original shop being in Boulogne. Not sure, but I think the second shop would have been more of a shop front at the peak of business, or a temporary trading location. I understood during the Second World War the whole area of Boulogne - Billencourt got bombed heavily by the allies targeting the occupied Renault factory close by. See the second chapter.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_France_during_World_War_II
It's a dreadful complicated time. The rebuilding of the area took a long time.
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Yes.
An older picture but could it be La Gazelle..
It's hard to say. A while ago a La Gazelle head-badge was sold on Ebay.fr
I noticed that head-badges and decals vary, and I can't find any logic.
Perhaps fashion or even the customer could decide which style they liked? On the Eau-de-Nil I can't see a trace that any head-badge or decal was ever there, and so far not seen another one with the same down-tube decal.
