I love to find a good Paris photo story that I haven’t seen before, and this one that I found buried in the LIFE archives is a quite the treat. Veteran photographer for the magazine Loomis Dean followed a group of young students in 1961, getting an intimate peek into their lives as they pursued the bohemian dream in mid-century Paris.
And you know what? It doesn’t seem like much has changed. Clicking through, I noticed the routines didn’t seem so different from the Paris I’ve come to know today. Whether you start out in a tiny attic room or student dorms, throw yourself into the café culture or lose yourself in art museums, Paris is more recogniseable than ever in this photo story from decades past…
Monday nights at the local…
The mid-week hangovers…
Actual photo caption: “Student with a hangover”.
To the Café! (and make it a double)…
Close living quarters (the dorm room years)…
A college dormitory at number 57 Rue Lacépède in the 5th arrondissement (Latin Quarter).
There is still a café under this building called La Contrescarpe (see it here on Google earth).
A student looking through his music.
A Classroom in Paris
Students studying in a park.
Art students visiting a gallery.
Every hour is Apéro Hour!
Getting to know the locals…
(over Pastis-fuelled philosophical debates)
Beatnik shindigs in old wine cellars…
Ending up at a house parties, having no idea who the apartment belongs to.
Saturday nights in.
Inspiration-searching Sundays…
Strolling down the Seine…
Art students “picnicking” with their models…
Not forgetting Springtime loves…
And of course, too many damn cigarettes.
All photos (c) LIFE
