Now over one hundred years old and still in fine form, "The Michelin Guide" has made the journey through the 20th century in much the same way as the motor car, the method of transportation preferred by Bibendum!
Travelling was arduous before 1914, on rough dirt roads, but with the arrival or paid holidays for employees, France was soon on the move. After a first golden age known here as the "glorious thirty years" (roughly 1945-1975), the advent of the motorway made travelling ever easier. The popularity of weekend get-aways, the reduced work week and other changes in society have created an increase in the number of short trips people take at any time of year, often to get away from the hectic pace of town.
The Guide was first offered to motorists "on a complementary basis". In France, in 1900, only 2,897 vehicles were officially declared to the tax authorities. Clearly the first printing of 35,000 copies had other readers in mind, as the Preface made clear. They were the 75,000 members of the Touring Club de France, founded ten years earlier. Michelin created the first removable tire for cycles in 1891, and a dozen pages of the Guide are devoted to tires for velocipedes.
The two brothers André and Édouard Michelin launched the project in the spirit of providing a service to motorists. The Guide is a reflection of this spirit of initiative and thirst for information and yet remains an objective guidebook, year after year, unaffected by fashion and mood, in tune with the events of the times. Like a Michelin tire, the guide has proved its resilience over the years, bouncing back after every bump or obstacle in the road, always seeking to improve its performance and to reach the end of the century, as its founders predicted, with the help and support of Michelin Guide readers.
The Guide is thus a testimony to the spirit of innovation of its creators, who were far ahead of their time in terms of market research, consumer surveys, readers’ letters and promotional actions.
The years pass, the Michelin Guide remains.
The Michelin Guide was created in the last year of the 19th century in response to the necessity of travel. Then, as now, it was reader-centred and fully in touch with the times.
As we enter the third millennium, the Guide embarks on a second century of existence and no longer needs the Michelin brothers to predict a bright future for it. Has it not shown proven its usefulness in myriad situations? And let us not forget the famous message of optimism in the preface to the 1902 edition: "There is no limit to progress, and we hope to further improve this Guide next year".
