I'm not sure where to post this, or where to look for this information in these forums, so I'm starting here in the hope I can be pointed in the right direction. I'm looking for sources for pictures and literature on the buildings in Normandy pre-WWII, in areas such as Carentan, Sainte-Mere-Eglise, Chef-du-pont, Picauville, the like. The search is proving to be much more difficult than I originally suspected it would be, so any help on this would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.
Do a Google Image search for old French postcards of the towns you are after. I sometimes lose a few hours looking at old photos of France. Use this search term ''ancienne carte postale'' with either normandie or the town you want.
First welcome to the forum. there have been many post and threads here with before and after photographs of the areas you mentioned. Someone here can probably tell you how to find them. I taught architecture and the history there of but do not immediately know of a source of what you seek. Interestingly I often go to Google Earth find a village in say Normandy and zoom in and click on the photo icons. Many are of no use but some real jewels pop up if you are diligent. In the late 70's I drove from Reims to Mons and stopped to visit a WW1 German cemetery deep within France. Last year I went to Google earth and retraced all probably routes I could have taken clicking on icons and found it, took hours but great fun. It was hugely neglected in the 70's, pristine now ! Samuel Chamberlain , published a beautiful folio of sketches "Domestic Architecture in Rural France, 1928 that has been released in Paperback, a number of them are in your area. Gaines Type in St. Lo, France and see what you get ....post war of course.
Benjamin and lwd, thank you for the likes. I am a bit behind on computer skills but am doggedly determined to find new uses. I run my cursor down roads in interesting places looks for signs of the war. Alsace-Lorraine is also very fruitful as is the Ardennes. I had planned one last trip to France last year but was stymied by a EU rule, no rental car after 75 !!!. It may not be EU but the rental companies all seem to agree. Drat !! I real like Sheldrake's idea. of postcards.. There should be tour guide books from that era as well. . Biblio.com Books may have some possible sources but have not really explored it. Gaines