Totem Val d'Osne

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Métro signpost, Val d'Osne variant
Boulevard Saint-Germain
Quartier Saint-Germain-des-Prés, 6th arrondissement
Paris, July 2002

“Also known as masts or totems, distinctive Métro signposts were a 1920s innovation of the Nord-Sud company. In the early years, two styles arrived in succession. The Val d'Osne variant (named after an iron foundry, and visible at Saint Paul) consists of a globe-shaped lamp atop a ‘MÉTRO’ sign surrounded by an ornate cast-iron frieze. The simpler Dervaux lampposts (named after their architect) became common in the 1930s, following the contemporary trend away from decorative embellishment.” (Architecture of the Paris Métro, Wikipedia)