Industrial Revolution:

Throughout the world, the Industrial Revolution brought with it great societal and political changes. France, whose main industry was still with the people in local shops and businesses, progressed rapidly despite the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The Eiffel Tower was constructed during the Universal Exhibition of 1889 to commemorate the centennial of the French Revolution, the same year that Thérèse entered the Carmelite monastery. In Thérèse's lifetime scientific discovery gave the world the motor car, the rubber tire, the telephone, high-powered explosives and motion pictures.

Inventions:

Elevator:
In order to explain her approach to God, Thérèse used the metaphor of an elevator. In Story of a Soul she writes, "We are living in the age of inventions, and we no longer have to take the trouble of climbing stairs, for, in the homes of the rich, an elevator has replaced these very successfully. I wanted to find an elevator which would raise me to Jesus, for I am too small to climb the rough stairway of perfection." In 1850 steam and hydraulic elevators had been introduced. Elisha Graves Otis invented the first safety elevator, which had a cable preventing it from falling. The first passenger elevator was installed in New York in 1857. Electric elevators came into use toward the end of the 19th century. The German inventor Werner Von Siemens built the first electric elevator in 1880. While travelling in Paris with her father and sister Céline, Thérèse was able to ride the elevators of the Printemps department stores.

Railway Systems:
Louis Martin, an experienced traveler himself, took Thérèse and Celine on a pilgrimage to Rome to visit the Holy Father in 1887. Accompanying them were about 70 priests and 100 members of the nobility. The Railway system had made it much easier to travel Europe. In September of 1825, the Stockton & Darlington Railroad Company was the first railroad to carry both goods and passengers using locomotives designed by English inventor, George Stephenson. It took one hour to pull six loaded coal cars and 21 passenger cars nine miles.

George Pullman, an American inventor, revolutionized the uncomfortable rail cars of the day. In 1857 he introduced the first sleeping car and in 1869 the first dining car. Electric lights were put in all cars in 1882. Steel replaced wooden cars, making travel safer in the event of an accident. By 1890 passenger cars were truly "palaces on wheels", enticing riders with artistic decorations, ornate wood and plush seats.

Invention of Photography:
Céline Martin, Thérèse's older sister, loved the arts; she drew, painted and was very interested in photography. Mother Marie de Gonzague permitted her to take her 13 x 18cm camera with a Darlot lens into Carmel. Consequently, Celine's extensive photography of Therese has given the world the most photographed saint of our day. While in Carmel, Céline had ample opportunities to paint, compose photographs of her sisters and help Thérèse design costumes and sets for her plays. Photography was relatively new in Thérèse's time and had not yet achieved the status of an art form. The first successful picture was produced in July of 1827 by Frenchmen Niépce using material that hardened with exposure to light. This picture required an exposure of eight hours. In 1839, Niépce's partner, Louis Daguerre, shortened the exposure process to a half an hour and called the photo a Daguerreotype. In 1835, William Henry Fox Talbot of England invented the Calotype, which used the earliest paper (photo) negative on record. The very first commercial pinhole camera was designed by Dehors and Deslandres in France in 1887. Their camera had a rotating disc with six pinholes, three pairs of similar sizes.

History of Motion Pictures:
In 1872, only a few months before Thérèse's birth, Edward Muybridge, an American photographer, was asked by Leland Stanford, Senator of California, whether or not all the hoofs of a horse came off the ground while it was in full gallop. Muybridge set up a series of co-ordinated cameras to record the progressive motion of a running horse. The result was the discovery of the motion-picture principle. In 1887, Thomas Edison invented a motion picture machine in which tiny moving pictures could be viewed. Two years later, Edison perfected the motion picture using a nitro-cellulose film manufactured by George Eastman. In 1894, the first motion picture was shown in New York.