Sylvabelle sanitorium, postcard.

Sylvabelle – La Croix (Var). Maison Médicale de Régimes, Héliothérapie, Hydrothérapie, Massages. Établissement et Terrasse dominant la Baie de Cavalaire." Postcard. [c.1912]. Private collection.

Sylvabelle in La Croix-Val-Mer, near Saint-Tropez on the Côte d'Azur, opened in 1904 as an explicitly naturist sanatorium, under the supervision of a Dr. Albert Monteuuis. Monteuuis wrote extensively on heliotherapy and other natural therapies. He promoted heliotherapy as a natural treatment for the benefit of all suffering from chronic illness. His book on air, light, and sun baths was first published in 1904, translated into English as early as 1907, and republished in 1911.