Handwritten graph of Citroën car deliveries to the commercial department (1927-1936)

In this document

This sheet of graph paper bears a graph titled « NOMBRE DE VOITURES LIVREES AU Sce COMMERCIAL » [NUMBER OF CARS DELIVERED TO THE COMMERCIAL DEPT], with the specification « Voitures - Châssis nus - U.E. + Régresse » [Cars - Bare chassis - U.E. + Kegresse] p. 1.

Structure of the graph

The vertical axis is graduated from 0 to 12,000, in increments of 1,500 units. The horizontal axis is divided into annual columns ranging from 1927 to 1936, followed by an additional column cut off by the edge of the document, probably 1937 p. 1.

The two curves

Two data series are plotted, corresponding to two legends indicated on the sheet: « Voitures 4 cyl. » [4-cyl. cars] and « Voitures 6 cyl. » [6-cyl. cars] p. 1.

• A red curve, with the highest values, oscillates between approximately 2,800 and 11,000 units, with visible peaks towards the end of 1929 and the end of 1933 p. 1.
• A blue curve, with lower values, oscillates between 0 and approximately 2,900 units, with peaks towards the end of 1929 / 1930 p. 1.

Notable fact: the two curves are only filled in up to the year 1933; the columns for 1934 to 1936 (and the following cut-off column) appear empty of any plotting p. 1.

Context

This type of statistical tracking is part of Citroën's industrial and commercial activity during the interwar period, a time marked by the development of 4 and 6-cylinder engine ranges and by the economic turbulence of the early 1930s linked to the 1929 crisis.

Nothing in the document confirms that this graph emanates directly from Citroën's statistical department or specifies its exact use; these elements fall under the general historical context, not the document itself. It is known, however, that Paul Magès joined Citroën in August 1925 and had a 49-year career there, first as a technical writer and then as deputy head of the Super-Control (Draft of a letter from Paul Magès to Mr. Sarre and interview plan of the 11): the presence of this graph in his collection is likely explained by this long immersion in the company's departments during the years covered by the document.

Archivist's perspective

This graph seems to have been designed as an internal sales tracking tool, intended to visually compare the evolution of deliveries of the two engine types (4 and 6 cylinders) over nearly a decade p. 1.

The sharp stop of the plots in 1933, while the graph's grid continues until 1936, suggests that the document was probably established or completed during 1933-1934, with the following columns having been prepared in advance without being filled in p. 1.

Its presence in the Magès collection is not explained by the document itself, but it is consistent with his career at Citroën which began in 1925 (Draft of a letter from Paul Magès to Mr. Sarre and interview plan of the 11); however, nothing indicates a direct link with his engineering work on suspension, which only began in the late 1930s. This graph provides information above all, by implication, on the industrial and commercial context in which his technical innovations would emerge.