Camille du Gast

Camille du Gast (Marie Marthe Camille Desinge du Gast, Camille Crespin du Gast, 30 May 1868 – 24 April 1942) was one of a trio of pioneering French female motoring celebrities of the Belle Époque, together with Hélène de Rothschild (Baroness Hélène van Zuylen) and Anne de Rochechouart de Mortemart, the Duchess of Uzès.

Du Gast was known as one of the richest and most accomplished widows in France due to her many achievements. She was an accomplished sportswoman—a balloonist, parachute jumper, fencer, tobogganist, skier, rifle and pistol shot, horse trainer—as well as a concert pianist and singer. She was the second woman to compete in an international motor race.

In France, she later became renowned for her extensive charity work. She was president of the Société protectrice des animaux (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, SPA) until her death, and her campaign against bullfighting included disruptive direct action protests. She provided health-care to disadvantaged women and children in Paris, and continued whilst under German occupation in World War II.

She was the central figure in the Parisian scandal of La Femme au Masque where she was maliciously but mistakenly named as the nude model in a notorious painting by Henri Gervex. This salacious story involved three court cases, and was reported around the world.

Her exuberant social and sporting lifestyle was changed by a traumatic experience around 1910, when her daughter attempted to have her murdered in order to inherit her wealth. Afterwards she devoted herself to French government work in Morocco, and charitable works with animals, disadvantaged women and orphans.

A pioneer feminist, she served as vice-president of the Ligue Française du Droit des Femmes (The French League for the Rights of Women) after World War I. In 1904 she became the only woman official of the Automobile Club de France (A.C.F.).

She was known in the press by the sobriquets l'Amazone and la Walkyrie de la Mécanique (Valkyrie of the motor car).

Personal life

Marie Marthe Camille Desinge du Gast was born in Paris in 1868. A 'garçon manqué' (tomboy) she was the youngest amongst her siblings, having a sister plus a brother who was twelve years older.

Known as Camille du Gast she married Jules Crespin in 1890, he was the manager and majority shareholder of the Grands Magasins Dufayel, one of the largest department stores in France. It had evolved from Le Palais de la Nouveauté which his father Jacques Crespin had founded in 1856 in the 18th arrondissement of Paris, but by 1890 Georges Dufayel had taken over ownership of the store and changed its name to Dufayel. Jules Crespin died young (circa 1896/7, 'when she was 27') leaving her a very wealthy widow with a young daughter. This further stimulated her to participate in sporting activities. Some sources report that she had originally started competitive ballooning and parachuting activities under her maiden name, du Gast, at her husband's behest in order to avoid them being mistaken for publicity stunts.

She was an accomplished athlete, fencer, tobogganist, skier, rifle and pistol shot, horse trainer and concert pianist. Gordon Bennett described her as "the greatest sportswoman of all time".

After her husband's death she began to travel extensively, including crossing Morocco on horseback. She was active on the Parisian social scene, being known as "one of the richest and most accomplished widows in France".

Character

Her quixotic character, pugnacity, ambition and daring meant that she was both admired and detested in equal measure. She developed her political connections whilst rubbing shoulders with political leaders and personalities.

Attempted murder

Around 1910 her daughter attempted to have her murdered in her home in the middle of the night. Jean François Bouzanquet wrote in his book Fast Ladies: Female Racing Drivers 1888 to 1970 :

It was her daughter who put an end to this adventurous life. A jealous and mercenary individual, she had been trying for a long time to extort money from her famous mother. By the skin of her teeth, Camille escaped an assassination attempt, instigated by her daughter's ruffian friends, at her home in the middle of the night. She confronted them and they turned tail and fled. Faced with a daughter who had deceived her, nothing was ever the same for Camille after that, and from that point until her death in Paris in April 1942 she devoted herself to her beloved animals.

Death and commemoration

She is buried in the Crespin family tomb at the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. The sepulchre in the 36th section of the cemetery is adorned with a bust of the founder Jacques Crespin, and decorative statuary by sculptors Jules Dalou, Alexandre Falguière and Étienne Leroux (1836–1906).

In 1929 she was honoured when the government named the rue Crespin du Gast in the Paris district of Ménilmontant, a name that is still preserved today. Her international fame was highlighted when, on 27 December 1929 the Roundup Record Tribune & Winnett Times of Roundup and Winnett, Montana reported -

Paris – Madam du Gast, once known as the most beautiful woman in Paris and certainly one of the most beneficent, has just been honoured by having her name added to the rue Crespin which will henceforth be known as the rue Crespin du Gast. It is one of the very few streets in Paris named for women, for, what with all the generals, marshals, presidents and city councilors and mayors ready for honours, the women come in for very few.

She is also commemorated by the technical school 'Lycée professionnel des métiers de l'automobile Camille du Gast' at Chalon-sur-Saône

La Femme au Masque

La Femme au Masque affair involved Madame du Gast in three discrete court cases in Paris in 1902, with its salacious and colourful detail being reported worldwide. In 1885 Henri Gervex painted La Femme au Masque (The Masked Model), a notorious picture of his 22-year-old model Marie Renard standing naked apart from a Domino mask concealing her face. Her identity was never publicly revealed, causing great speculation and many accusations over time.

In 1902, during hostile family legal proceedings Maître Barboux, the barrister representing her father and brother, accused du Gast of having posed for the picture, and he handed a photograph around the court. She retaliated by bringing a legal action against Barboux, but even though both Henri Gervex and Marie Renard appeared for her, she lost, possibly because Barboux's character assassination was considered 'normal practice' in France. After Barboux left the court he was confronted by M. de Marcilly and Hélie de Talleyrand-Périgord, the Prince de Sagan, her close friend, admirer and suitor, who punched him in the face (or gave him two slaps) and called him 'an insulter'. In September 1902 both of the men who had championed du Gast in this fashion were prosecuted at the 'Palais de Justice', the Prince was fined 500 francs and de Marcilly 100 francs. The ongoing scandal was newsworthy around the world, being reported in detail in New Zealand and Australia, the West Gippsland Gazette waxing lyrical about her exotic appearance, demeanour, achievements and intellect.

Ballooning and parachuting

Madame du Gast and her husband were enthusiastic hot air balloonists, and she flew with the semi-professional pilot Louis Capazza. In 1895 she jumped from a hot air balloon at an elevation of 610 metres (2,000 ft) using a parachute. The balloon was one of two used to publicise her husband's department store, Dufayel, at fêtes and public events, but he insisted that she use her maiden name, du Gast, to avoid her endeavour appearing as a publicity stunt.

Motoring

Du Gast was enthused by watching the start of the 1900 Gordon Bennett Cup race from Paris to Lyon. By 1901 she owned both a Peugeot and a Panhard et Levassor motor-car, stimulating her interest in driving and racing. She is reported as one of the first women, after the Duchess of Uzès, to obtain a driving license. Such was her drive and pugnacity and daring, she managed to become the only woman official of the Automobile Club de France (A.C.F.) on 1 December 1904.(Source: Official Journal of the A.C.F)