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"Street Vendors and Cries of Hanoi" is a book of less than 100 pages published by Kim Dong Publishing House and the French Institute of Far Eastern Studies to commemorate the 1010th anniversary of Thang Long, Hanoi.
The book "Street Vendors and Street Cries of Hanoi".
In 1925, the Indochina College of Fine Arts was established. One of the first assignments given to the students by Professor Ferdinand de Fénis was to depict street vendors in Hanoi."It's not just about drawing their postures, facial expressions, and movements, but also about capturing their street vendor calls in musical notation, to preserve, through images and sounds, a unique aspect of Hanoi's daily life." Huy Toàn (translator).
The painting depicts a man selling vanilla ice cream with a four-note musical staff below, corresponding to the call "se cau se cau," accompanied by the French caption "crême à la vanille."
Bustling market days in the early 20th century.
Most of the artworks are of unknown authorship, but it is known that some of the students from that year later became famous painters in Vietnam: To Ngoc Van, Le Pho, Luu Van De, Mai Trung Thu…
A painting of a pho vendor carrying his bowl on a shoulder pole in Hanoi's Old Quarter.
The project by the teachers and students of the Indochina College of Fine Arts was completed in 1929 along with many other photographic documents. Subsequently, the entire project was published in specialized journals in France and a thematic exhibition was held in Paris.
A photo of a pho stall by Hoan Kiem Lake.
Photographs of people selling candied fruit during the Tet holiday of the Year of the Goat (1955).
A photograph of a market in Hanoi.
A photograph of a tea vendor, mat seller, and bamboo basket seller on a Hanoi street.
The book is like a nostalgic travelogue, evoking fond memories of a unique flavor of Hanoi in the turbulent early years of the 20th century. As Olivier Tessier, Head Representative of the French Institute of Far Eastern Studies in Hanoi, shared, it is "a true part of Hanoi's culture – the street vendors and their calls."
Currently, "Street Vendors and the Cries of Hanoi" is available for sale in many bookstores and online retailers, as an "autobiography" paying tribute to the 1010th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi, and also as a gift expressing appreciation for eternal cultural values.
