If it is naive, it is nevertheless faithful to the reality of the dam, the lock, and the two mills. On the right bank, the mill of Clairac, before an electric turbine was installed a few years later. On the left bank, the mill of Longueville whose arcades under the building (intended to channel the water used to drive the millstones), but also the lock at the exit of the “canalet” which runs along the bank are clearly visible. Between the two, the dam whose first mentions date back to the 12th century. On the bank, wearing a hat that protects him from the sun, a fisherman watches his rod. At his feet is a moored boat, a small “gabarre”, as was often seen on the Lot at that time.
On the horizon, the silhouette of Clairac, whose every house is clearly identifiable: above the mill, the Capuchins (a former small convent which existed until the 1980s), then the house called Le Fort (demolished by the Technical College around 1970), and finally the abbey whose powerful round tower (the famous Calvin's tower) dominates the Lot; one can even make out the long wooden poles that support the wooden gallery decorating the south facade of the abbey. Dominating the whole, the bell tower of the church, with its small side tower. This point of view had already been chosen by Léo Drouyin in 1856, when he moved to Clairac to make several drawings that are now in a private collection.
Recently identified by Alain Glayroux, the Revue Caprice, was briefly published in Tonneins in 1879. To date, it is difficult to know exactly who designed it, nor the author of this drawing, which is a precious testimony to the Clairac of 140 years ago. If you have other issues of this magazine, please let us know.
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