Three sheets of unannotated technical sketches: mechanisms and bodywork

In this document

These three sheets p. 60-62 contain no text: no title, no date, no annotation. Only observation of the pencil sketches allows them to be described.

Page 60 — hexagonal shapes and trapezoidal part

Two superimposed sketches show a hexagonal shape seen from the front, with numerous lines radiating from a point towards the vertices and edges — evoking the profile or cross-section of a mechanical part p. 60. A third sketch depicts an elongated trapezoidal part, wider at the bottom than at the top, crossed by vertical and oblique lines suggesting edges or folds p. 60.

Page 61 — symmetrical bodywork element

This sketch, drawn on kraft paper, presents a composition symmetrical to a vertical axis: a rounded shape evoking a bonnet or a sketched grille, two oblique lines forming a V framing a double-curved arch (which could represent a bumper or a curved bodywork part), and at their convergence a small circle marked with a cross, surrounded by an inverted V motif — perhaps a headlight or a mechanical reference point p. 61. Fine parallel vertical lines cross the page, likely construction lines.

Page 62 — dome sketch

The last sketch, also on kraft paper, represents a dome or bell shape, with a rounded section at the top, narrowing towards a small part drawn at the top evoking a fitting or a connector with a central cutout. The dome is structured by meridian lines suggesting ribs, with a vertical axis of symmetry and, on the right, a small isolated angular element in the shape of a tab or key p. 62.

Context

No date or caption allows these sketches to be precisely situated in the career of Paul Magès. It is known, from the general historical context, that Magès developed the Citroën hydropneumatic suspension, one of the central components of which is a metal sphere containing air and oil separated by a membrane.

This information external to the document is mentioned here only as a reference point: nothing in the transcriptions allows us to state that the dome shape on page 62 actually represents such a sphere.

Archivist's perspective

The dome shape on page 62, with its meridian ribs and upper fitting, is reminiscent in its silhouette of a suspension sphere or a related hydraulic element; it is possible, without certainty, that this sketch pertains to a search for form for this type of component p. 62.

The sketches on pages 60 and 61, on the other hand, seem to relate more to bodywork studies or various mechanical parts, without it being possible to specify their purpose p. 60-61.

These unannotated sheets are found, in the same collection, alongside other items devoted to the constant oil level system and air/oil devices, such as the dimensioned sketch of the hydropneumatic oil reservoir or the sketch of the oil reservoir: they likely bear witness to the same period of graphic experimentation around hydropneumatic components, without a direct link being established with certainty.