As part of Bob’s ongoing interest and research into the interesting world of the French Planky, here are a couple of shots of one from an ongoing exhibit on surf culture at the Musée d’Aquitaine. I was fortunate enough to work on the board and photo collection (Thanks to the SHACC !) - what a great opportunity. Kind of like a rockered out paipo, these were built by Jacky Rott who became one of the first shapers in France. The board above is a very early French balsa (Barland/Rott - Thanks Balsa!). And then a photo of the man himself with this Planky and another one.
I’ll try and get a rocker shot in the next week or so.
I’ll check at the next collectors’ meeting in Sept. and see who else may have one lurking in the corners of their house. I think there are one or two here in Bordeaux, and definitely a couple in the Basque Country. Hopefully I can come up with a bit more for you.
The exhibit is pretty vast, really, but the section on Jacky Rott is limited - There are plenty of early French surf magazines, posters, postcards, etc. and from a variety of players in the field. One of the hardest parts for the curators was deciding what to exclude! Especially as the broad theme covers history, photography, pop art, literature… a smorgasboard of surf-related items and stories.
