Diploma of the 1970 Grand Prix of Art and Industry awarded to Paul Magès

In this document

This diploma originates from the Society for the Encouragement of Art and Industry, presented in the header as "founded in 1889, recognised as being of public utility on 21 January 1905" p. 1.

It awards the "1970 Grand Prix of French Automotive Art and Industry" p. 1 to "Mr MAGES, Mechanical Engineer of CITROEN Automobiles" p. 1, with the mention "DIPLOMA" and the status of "Collaborator" printed on a dedicated stamp p. 1.

The document is signed by "THE PRESIDENT" and "THE GENERAL SECRETARY" of the society, both handwritten signatures being illegible p. 1. The layout features a vertical banner bearing the acronym "S E A I" as well as blue and red lines organising the certificate p. 1.

Context

The Society for the Encouragement of Art and Industry, an association recognised as being of public utility, traditionally awarded prizes intended to promote significant French technical or artistic achievements of the year.

In 1970, Paul Magès held an engineering position at Citroën, where he had started in August 1925 and where he would remain until his retirement in September 1974 (photographs of retirement). More than a decade earlier, he had developed the hydropneumatic suspension — the plans for which dated back to February 1944 (hydropneumatic suspension plans) —, a flagship technology of the DS presented on 6 October 1955 and subsequently used on other models of the brand. This type of distinction, awarded to a "collaborator" rather than in an isolated personal capacity, is part of a common practice of recognising engineers in the French automotive industry of the time.

Archivist's perspective

This diploma testifies to the institutional recognition granted to Paul Magès for his contribution to the French automotive industry, although the document does not explicitly specify the technical reason for this distinction — presumably linked, given his career at Citroën, to his work on the hydropneumatic suspension, but this remains a hypothesis external to the text itself.

It is an honorary rather than a technical piece, which usefully complements Magès's biographical archives by documenting his professional reputation in 1970, four years before his retirement and move to Ramatuelle. It would benefit from being compared with other documents relating to his career at Citroën or any previous distinctions, if such documents exist in the collection.