As health is a desideratum which is requisite for the pursuit of every occupation, and particularly for such as mean to enjoy Paris to its full extent, which will require a considerable degree of exercise, I must recommend the visiter a chymist and druggist on whom he may rely, where he may find the means of re-establishing any relaxation of strength or other malady to which all human nature is ever prone. There are innumerable establishments of this nature in Paris, and especially of those who announce English medicines, but the one which I have understood as possessing such as are truly genuine both in French and English pharmacy, is that of M. Joseau, and as a testimony of confidence in the respectability of his establishment, it has been made the chief depository of a medicine entitled the Copahine Mége, so particularly recommended by the Royal Medicine Academy of France, who have voted their thanks to the author, and granted him a patent for fifteen years, having proved so efficacious where patients have by their excesses deteriorated their health, and in fact, in all cases of blennorrhagies. M. Joseau may be also useful to my countrymen, who are in the habit of riding much on horseback, in providing them with belts of his own invention, which are made of India rubber, and in general use with the French cavalry. The establishment of M. Joseau is situated at No. 161, corner of the Rue Montmartre, and of the Gallery Montmartre, Passage Panorama, where my countrymen will be sure of meeting with the most assiduous attention, both from himself and his assistants, and that whatever they may require in his department will be of the best description, and at the most moderate prices; I know of no business whatever in which there is such an immense difference in the charges both in London and Paris, that it appears to me that chemists and druggists make you pay ad libitum, without having any fixed system, therefore I never enter any of their shops without I have had them particularly recommended.
Before I quit this chapter of shreds and patches, although of solid utility, a very useful establishment must be introduced to my readers, belonging to Messrs. Danneville, No. 16, Rue d'Aguesseau, Faubourg St. Honoré, facing the Protestant Chapel, consisting of every description of earthenware and crockery, on a very extensive scale, with a very quiet exterior, the premises having more the appearance of warehouses than shops; the assortment is quite of a multitudinous description, including vessels of the cheapest and most useful nature, at the same time containing numbers of superior articles, wherein extreme taste is displayed. The concern has been a long time established, and is quite in the centre of the quarter which such numbers of English choose for their residence; the proprietors are civil, quiet, unassuming people, and their articles exceedingly reasonable.
CHAPTER VIII.
Novel introductions of different branches of industry.—Recent inventions.—Extensions of commerce in various departments.—Establishments of several new descriptions of business, now flourishing, and formerly unknown.
The commerce of Paris has now extended to so vast a scale, that it has become an immense entrepòt for all the productions and manufactures of France; the foreign merchant now feels that in visiting Paris he shall there find the cheapest, the choicest, and the most extensive assortment of all that the nature of the country, aided by art, is able to produce; he is aware that he need not repair to Lyons, to Lille, Rouen, or other manufacturing districts, for their respective articles, for which they are famed, as he knows that in the great emporium of the Continent, all that the ingenuity of man can produce will there be found. Independent of that advantage, there are many branches of industry confined to Paris, first invented within its walls, improved, and wrought to a state of perfection, which is unrivalled in any other capital, and affording employ to an immense number of hands, from the multitude of ramifications into which these branches diverge; so that Paris once principally celebrated as a city of pleasure and gaiety, still retaining that reputation, is now also renowned for its extraordinary manufactures, and the curious and splendid specimens of art and ingenuity emerging from its numerous ateliers, and which would require an extent far beyond the limits of this work, to give a just and accurate review of their merits; but some there are which being of a nature totally novel in the annals of commerce, and having merely been introduced within the last few years, we shall devote some space to their description in order to afford our readers an idea of their beauty and utility.
Amongst the various articles of the above description, none perhaps occupy a more prominent position for beauty, taste, and ingenuity, than the extraordinary variety displayed in what is termed fancy stationary, the fabrication of which is now extended to such a degree, as to have become an important branch of the commerce of Paris. Its introduction is but of recent date, as in the reign of Charles X all the paper required for notes, letters, dispatches, etc., was procured from England, on account of its extreme superiority over that of France; the Court never using any other, the example was followed not only by the major part of the French nobility, but by all foreigners of distinction who happened to be sojourning at Paris, hence the importation of paper from England was to a considerable amount. But when Louis Philippe came to the throne, he with his usual policy observed, that paper of French manufacture was good enough for his purposes, it was therefore adopted at the Court, and the noblesse and gentry, following in the same line, that encouragement was afforded to their countrymen, that engendered the idea of rendering their own paper so tasteful and elegant that now the affair is quite reversed, and England takes from France an immense quantity of this beautiful manufacture, which employs even artists of talent for designing the elegant and fanciful devices which ornament their envelopes, with their enclosures of various sizes and forms, in which the arts of drawing, painting, gilding, stamping, etc., combine to render them so pretty and so gay, that one feels loath to destroy any of these ornamental epistles, however trifling their import; the subjects of the devices are as various as those which they are intended to illustrate, history, the heathen mythology, religion, friendship, a more tender passion, etc., are all allegorically or emblematically represented, in the fancy stationary, offering the writer the means of choosing a subject consistent with the text of his letter, as an invitation to dinner is designated by paintings of pheasants, game, etc., to a soirée dansante, the note is adorned by couples waltzing, etc., to a whist party, the cards and players are introduced, and if to tea, the cups and saucers of gilded and glowing hue, bedeck the gay margin; so that before a word is written in the letter, it foretells its errand.
There are very many who have gradually contributed their talents to this branch of industry, but it is M. Marion who may be considered the inventor, he having availed himself with the most effect of their abilities, and concentrated their respective merits, in which he has displayed much perseverance, taste, and judgment, as also in the manner in which he has organised this branch of commerce, and promoted its extension. At his establishment at No. 14, Cité-Bergère, will be found a most extensive assortment of fancy stationary, comprehending every description of variety that the most fertile imagination could depict, the prices of ordinary paper commencing at the very humble price of six sheets for a sou, and according to the degree that it is ornamented, gradually rising to 25 francs a sheet. M. Marion has also an establishment in London, at No. 19, Mortimer Street, Cavendish Square, exactly on a similar plan as that in Paris, containing an equal variety of specimens of this new branch of art.
When the visiter has a half hour to spare, he would not find it thrown away in visiting the establishment of Madame Merckel, she having found the means of applying the phosphorus and chemical matches, which she has invented, to such a number of purposes, and of introducing them in so curious and ingenious a manner into divers articles, calculated both for utility and ornament, that her manufactory might be considered quite a little museum; amongst a variety of pretty things, I was first struck with a time-piece which acts as an alarum, and not only answers the purpose of awakening you at any hour which you may desire, but a little figure representing a magician, at the instant strikes a magic mirror, by which means the taper he holds is ignited, and with all possible grace, he presents you with a light just as you open your eyes. A night lamp next attracted me, which represented Mount Vesuvius, and the means by which it is lighted, proceeds from an enormous dragon emitting fire from his throat; this article is equally useful as a paper press. Another night lamp I found particularly elegant, though perfectly simple, consisting merely of a gilded branch, gracefully carved into a sort of festoon, from which was suspended a little lamp of most classic form. The inkstands consist of an indescribable variety, displaying all kinds of contrivances, some so portable as easily to go into the pocket, and containing instantaneous light on touching a spring, with pens, ink, seal and wax. Amongst the endless number of paper presses is one with a blacksmith, who, when light is required, strikes the anvil and fire appears; abundance of cigar stands with matches are arranged after a variety of whimsical methods, some of them very tasteful, and having quite an ornamental effect. Fortunately, Madame Merckel has in a great degree met with the reward her ingenuity merits, receiving the greatest encouragement from the public, and not only having had a patent granted her to protect her inventions, but she has also been presented with medals from three scientific Societies. As her prices are as various as the objects are numerous, every purse may be accommodated, as there are some as low as a sou, whilst there are others which rise as high as twenty pounds, the charge elevating according to the degree of ornament or utility. It appears surprising that a business which was not known until within the last few years should have risen to such importance, as Madame Merckel not only transmits her merchandise to every town in France, but also to the principal cities throughout Europe. The manufactory is No. 24, Rue du Bouloi, in the Cour des Fermes; there is besides a similar establishment in London, at No. 30, Edmund Place, Aldersgate Street, which is entirely furnished by Madame Merckel, possessing the same varied assortment, and undertaking to execute the same extent of supply.
How very simple are some descriptions of inventions, and how very simple one is apt to think one's self in not having before thought of that which appears so trifling and easy when once known. So it is with a sort of portable desk, invented by M. Tachet, for which he has procured a patent; it needs no table nor any kind of support, as the student places it under him, and his own weight keeps it perfectly firm and steady; the plane (on which he writes or draws) being attached to the part on which he sits, rises before him, capable of accommodating itself to such elevation as may be desired; its principal utility is for sketching from nature, but as females could not make use of this desk in the same manner as men, M. Tachet has also such as are adapted to their accommodation, the base lying on the lap, and fastened by a band round the waist, which keeps it perfectly firm. M. Tachet has also devoted much time and attention in forming a collection of angular and carved pieces of wood, shaped and finished with extreme neatness, describing almost every form that can well be imagined, and composed of such wood as has been so well seasoned that it can never warp, either ebony, box, pear-tree, or indeed of every different country which produces the hardest woods; they are particularly used by engineers and architects, for drawing plans or elevations of buildings, as every curve or angle of any dimensions which can be required, may be traced by these curved and angular rulers. In French, on account of the form resembling that of a pistol, the curved pieces are called pistolet, which comprehends a complete set, and great demands for them come from England. At the establishment of M. Tachet will also be found almost every article that is required by the artist, and it is in fact the only house in Paris where there is any certainty of procuring real English colours, as there are so many counterfeits of them exposed in almost all the colour-shops in Paris, with the names and arms upon them of some of the most eminent English colour manufacturers. But I can assure my countrymen that those they obtain from M. Tachet are genuine, and that they may deal with him in the same confidence as they would with what we call a true Englishman; he has likewise a most complete collection of mathematical instruments; his shop is situated at No. 274, Rue St. Honoré, at the bottom of the court-yard, and although it has not so brilliant an appearance as many establishments of the same nature, it is not the worse for its quiet exterior, but on the contrary, the same articles will be found with him at a more moderate charge than they ever can be procured of his dashing rivals.