A story
to pass on.
Familiar faces, faraway places,
and all the lives that connect us.
Discover the story of the Cordelle and Rougier families through their photographs, letters and memories.
Browse the albums The story behind these archives
Two families,
one shared story.
Two paths crossed in 1953,
when Yves and Claude met.
THE CORDELLE COLLECTIONThe Cordelle family
From the family’s roots to their years in Argentina,
and on to Yves’s youth.
THE ROUGIER COLLECTIONThe Rougier family
The stories, places and memories
that shaped Claude’s childhood.
THE STORY CONTINUESSometimes all it takes
is one photograph.
A garden, a journey, a familiar face rediscovered.
Follow a thread and let the story unfold.
Thank you, Yves.
The memories live on.
Yves has passed away. These archives reflect his eye for detail, his patience and his wish to pass the family’s story on. We keep them alive with affection and gratitude so that these faces, stories and memories can still be shared.
Visit the tribute to Yves ↗Keeping memories alive.
A story that continues.
In 1988–1989, Yves Cordelle wrote the history of his family. He and Claude Rougier also collected the history of hers. Photographs, letters, documents and stories bring these pages to life.
The histories were later digitised and expanded at Christophe Cordelle’s suggestion. The earliest collections trace the families’ roots up to 1953. Yves and Claude’s archives pick up the story after their marriage in 1954 and follow the generations that came after them. Yves first created the website in 2003 to pass these stories on.
The authors noted gaps, errors and uncertainties. The documents preserve their texts and captions.
Explore these memories for yourself