In one of the covered passages that I have, close to my home, there is one called Le Passage Jouffroy that I already mentioned here several times. It shelters many interesting places to visit (including the Musée Grévin (wax museum)) and a a stunning gallery of antique walking canes that I also already mentioned here, but a long long time ago. All the canes they have are really extraordinary (more photos here).
Eric -- these canes are fabulous and so is the photo.
ReplyDeleteI worked in the Passage Choiseul back in the day, and loved it.
That dog head is quite interesting... I'm not sure whether or not I like it, I think it's a bit too angular.
ReplyDeleteI love the passages, the first time I stayed in Paris my hotel was almost right next to one.
btw, I had a fantastic time in Italy, but didn't look at a computer for 2 weeks -- and I missed PDP!!
ReplyDeleteNice ivory and wood canes. Très chic. I can practically imagine the gentleman who used them... The wooden one seems to be Chinese, between a gargoyle and a dragon.
ReplyDeleteAlexa, welcome back!! What a pity you didn't had time to stop in Paris!
Canes are very gentlemanly. I am not keen on these ones though; much too fierce!
ReplyDeleteIf I ever need a cane, I'm going to have to get something fun a quirky.
ReplyDeleteI love these canes and I love the photo! I've added it to my favorites slideshow. I'm forever drawn to miniatures - painting, drawing, sculpture, what-have-you. Thanks for the link Eric, now I can duck into a passage almost any I'm at and have a little Parisian adventure I'd otherwise have missed. Alexa, I love your photo, and Lynn, I love your new do! Ciao for now -- c
ReplyDelete*anywhere*
ReplyDeleteSince my husband has been using a cane, I love to see what's available. Those are all gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteNothing pedestrian about these canes. Wonderful!
ReplyDeleteThank you Carrie!
ReplyDeleteYes—thanks, Carrie! (and I agree, Lynn—your 'do is rather Vidal Sassoon-ish!)
ReplyDeleteArt for walking and perhaps a bit of weaponry, too! A nice bit of pomp from yesteryear! I remember a memorable day spent at Le Passage Jouffroy...so many unique shops in a great area of Paris. Although, if I recall, on that particular day, there was an ancient-looking bookdealer that was closed; I believe it was in this Passage...like I need any more books. :-) Merci Eric!
ReplyDeleteHey Alexa! It's only fitting that on your first day back on PDP you are wearing the crown. Great to have you back in a stunning photo I may add. I won't even ask if you had a GREAT TIME! :-)
Wow! Those are magnificent, Eric. Don't you just love to look at craftsmanship like this. It's so rare someone would take the time to hand carve something. The greyhound head looks to be ivory, and I wonder what kind? When I was a Girl Scout in elementary school I learned to carve with a pocket knife and a bar of soap, then took to whittling sticks, then slashed my leg and haven't carved since. My husband often carved puppet heads and marionette parts from wood, and they were so fun to see. People with the kind of spacial relations ability to carve and sculpt amaze me.
ReplyDelete-Kim
Seattle Daily Photo
And Lynn, ditto what Carrie and Alex said. Tres chic!
ReplyDelete-Kim
Seattle Daily Photo
Another wonderful photo of a wonderful collection!
ReplyDeleteCheers!
Sunshine Coast Daily - Australia
Eric, I love this photo! Besides being a lovely picture of a beautiful object, the contrast between the dark, highly stylized, totally imaginary foo dog and the simple, sleek, realistic ivory greyhound is perfect on so many levels. Wow, are you good! I'm totally jealous. I wish I could follow you around Paris for a few weeks!
ReplyDeleteWhat beautiful carvings! The greyhound cane is so intricate. Very extraordinary is a good way to describe them, Eric.
ReplyDeleteGlad you can walk there on a regular basis and enjoy!
Eric, I love your blog! Great photos and wonderful writing... oh, how I long to go back to Paris! Thanks for being a daily inspiration,
ReplyDeleteKelli
The crisp focus on the nearest cane is pure pleasure. Every detail is better than I could see for myself. The greyhound makes me wonder how it feels in the hand. I really like these shots of specific discoveries.
ReplyDeleteIt is a pity that we (and by “we” I mean “men”) no longer regard canes as a desirable fashion accessory. Instead, we see dread them as a humiliating prelude to the even greater humiliation of a Zimmer frame: i.e. as drab omens of immobility. Such a view overlooks their colourful history as a badge of dandyism and the ultimate gentlemen’s gadget. I quote:
ReplyDelete‘Gadget canes can be broken down into four categories:
(a) Professional Canes: These canes were designed for professionals such as doctors who wanted to carry a small assortment of medical supplies or tools. Another example is the horse auctioneer who uses his gadget cane to measure a horse.
(b) City Canes: These gadget canes were considered to be fashionable and included items such as cigarettes, opera glasses and pipes. Some of these dual-purpose canes were even designed to be used as musical instruments, such as the violin cane that contained a bow hidden within the shaft.
(c) Sword Canes: These types of canes contained items such as daggers, swords and guns.
(d) Outdoors Canes: Gadget canes that include bird watching tools, fishing equipment, games and even whiskey flasks.’
What would your "gadget cane" contain? What kind of grip would it have?
Lucio...in my musician's cane? Hmm, definitely drumsticks, brushes, and mallets (and some egg shaking maracas)! How about you?
ReplyDelete:-)
Hi everyone -- I just found a Paris website for visitors that seems to have a very similar philosphy to Eric's - an open door to tourists by Parisians who love their city. Its called Paris Greeters (perhaps its been noted on PDP before,but I thought it would merit a listing on the home page). They give 2-3 hour free tours (no tips accepted), with the only caveat that one must pay for the guide's metro fare or other transportation. They have guides who speak 9 lanuages! And, I think that's pretty "trippy"!!!
ReplyDelete*languages*
ReplyDeleteI'd keep a drop of Lillet at the ready in my walking stick, just so I could call it my 'sugar cane'. 8}
ReplyDeleteGreat post! There are so many things I'm interested in that no one else I know around here likes. Somehow Eric captures photos of these things!!! And a wonderful history lesson from Lucio! Not sure exactly what I would like in my gadget cane, but I do know I'd like something jade and from China. Perhaps a dragon, but that seems a bit cliche. Oooh, I know! A grasshopper, for luck and because they freak me out.
ReplyDeleteI added a new member to my family today. We adopted a dog. Rott/beagle mix. It's the cutest thing, like a short stubby rott, and has the sweetest disposition!!!
Lucio - I think mine would be an ivory globe, capping a telescope and a magnifying glass.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of exploring the world, welcome back Alexa!
ReplyDeleteEric, Oh, the "reclining nude" cane -- you took two photos of that. Those photos speak, "I love women". BTW I have posed in the reclining nude pose for more painters than I can count as that was when I was going to The Art Students League in NYC. I would pose for some of the painting classes for extra money -- you know I was a starving student. Anyway, that is the easiest pose in the world to hold. They still gave me a break every 20 minutes. All the other classical poses are difficult to hold after 20 minutes so you really do need a break.
ReplyDeleteLucio, "the ultimate gentlemen’s gadget" -- so true. I remember reading in "Lost Illusions" when Lucien, a journalist and poet, had arrived in Paris and desired a walking stick so that he would "fit in" with the fashionable young men in Paris.
Carrie, Merci for sharing that info about the "Paris Greeters". It sounds fun.
Welcome home Alexa; Katie will be returning soon too.
Love the responses, guys. More, please!
ReplyDeleteAs for me, mine would have a gleaming silver tip, a finely-fluted stem coated in jet black lacquer, and a glossy jade handle in the form of a sleek - but shapely - "green fairy" (styled to resemble one of those mesmerising René Lalique hood ornaments).
The contents? An afternoon's supply of absinthe, of course!
Great detail photo! I missed the cane shop when I was walking in this passage last week; I was distracted by the mosaics and postcard sellers. Oh and Carrie if you like miniatures, there's a dollhouse shop in this passage too, lots of teeny things!
ReplyDeleteAlexa great job on the post-vacation GF snag! Can't wait to compare Italy notes! I return home one week from today; sob!
Lucio I enjoyed your quotes about types of canes. I'd feel like a dandy (or would that be dandie?) for sure walking around with a cane, but mine would have a micro-mosaic top with a compass, and I would carry a tiny camera, and a supply of chocolate.
Quite unexpectedly, our hypothetical canes are turning out to be veritable self-portraits! Let's recap, shall we?
ReplyDelete1. Coltrane: '[In] my musician's cane? Hmm, definitely drumsticks, brushes, and mallets (and some egg shaking maracas)!'
2. Carrie: 'I'd keep a drop of Lillet at the ready in my walking stick, just so I could call it my 'sugar cane'.'
3. Soosha: 'Not sure exactly what I would like in my gadget cane, but I do know I'd like something jade and from China. Perhaps a dragon, but that seems a bit cliche. Oooh, I know! A grasshopper, for luck and because they freak me out.'
4. USElaine: 'I think mine would be an ivory globe, capping a telescope and a magnifying glass.'
5. Lucio: 'As for me, mine would have a gleaming silver tip, a finely-fluted stem coated in jet black lacquer, and a glossy jade handle in the form of a sleek - but shapely - "green fairy" (styled to resemble one of those mesmerising René Lalique hood ornaments).'
6. Katie: 'I'd feel like a dandy (or would that be dandie?) for sure walking around with a cane, but mine would have a micro-mosaic top with a compass, and I would carry a tiny camera, and a supply of chocolate.'
Beautifully carved! Most of them are ivory?
ReplyDeleteAwesome work. This reminds me of the song Ebony & Ivory.
ReplyDeleteIt's dandy, Lucio.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Eric bought one?
So surprised to see you blogging the famous Paris Daily Photo Eric ! Congratulations for the pictures and the audience.
ReplyDeleteSee you soon may be on the new website courriers cadres via AG...
Bonne journée !
Ooooh, I like uselaine's too. Grasshopper topped for day, telescope cane for night? Sounds perfect! Perhaps also at night I could join lucio in conversing a bit with his fairy? ;)
ReplyDeleteMagnifique, la canne lévrier !
ReplyDeleteMon petit doigt me dit que la photo d'hier a été prise lors de la visite des benaut... je me trompe?
(voir Adelaide daily photo à la date d'hier, la photo-témoin LOL !!!)
... je viens d'aller voir les commentaires d'hier et je m'aperçois que mon scoop n'en est pas un LOL
ReplyDeleteI love this photo contrasted with the two gentlemen from yesterday's post. They are in a bit of a stand-off.
ReplyDeleteLois
ReplyDeleteConfession time! Are you the nude on the cane on the other photos? lol
Lucio, what about my walking cane? And I still havent got that invite! :(
Where is Monica, everyone?
Good point, Rose, though I know she's busy at work...?
ReplyDeleteI remember seeing this shop when Michel was giving us the walking tour. I recall examining the canes to see if there was somethim my mother would like. They are very nice, as Eric's photos show us. Unfortunately, the canes are tres cher, so I walked on.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was limping last winter, I used a nice antique cane with a silver head and received numerous compliments about how 'gentlemanly' it looked.
There are so many violent crimes these years, carrying a cane will seem threatening to many people, and police probably would stop you to ask about it. It's maybe a shame, but remember that a cane was not only stylish, it was a defensive weapon as well for a gentleman, who probably has some pounds, francs, or dollars in his pocket.
Fascinating shot! I love old things that were extremely personal like this; if they could speak I am sure they could tell some very interesting tales.
ReplyDeleteWondering if Le Passage Jouffroy is the same Passage in "Thérèse Raquin" by Émile Zola, where Madame Raquin has her shop?? Or was that the Passage du Pont Neuf which was later destroyed???
This is my husband's favorite place to window shop in all of Paris! It is not far from our hotel and we always walk through Le Passage Jouffroy to check out the prints and books. I swear the place is enchanted. I put a print back in the huge outside folder and changed my mind not more than 3 stores down. But when I went back I could not find it no matter how I kept telling myself this was impossible and kept looking; there was no one behind us! thanks dd
ReplyDeleteBeautiful! Merci Boucoup for the wonderful photos. I will be going to Paris for the first time in December and I am making notes of places to see. This museum will be on my list as will many of the other places in your photos.
ReplyDeleteKaren
Rose: "Lucio, what about my walking cane? And I still haven't got that invite!"
ReplyDeleteThe idea was that YOU tell ME about your ideal cane, as the others did...
Also, I've re-sent that invitation. Email me and to let me know whether or not it got through to you.
I'm not very good at explaning the full meaning of my comments.
ReplyDeleteSo here it is a more complex explanation:
You mentioned Zimmer frames and the humiliation of having a cane, etc.
When I said what about my Walking cane I meant to be disagreeing with you about people seeing canes only as a too to help us in our old age. I do a lot of walking, and I use my lovely walking sticks (I have 4) to aid me :)when walking up a hill or just on uneven ground.
Ah, now I understand! Thanks for elaborating, Rose. Although I would suggest that, nowadays, most people regard a walking stick (or cane) as a distinctly unflattering accoutrement.
ReplyDeleteI, like you, don't share this opinion. Oh, to stroll the streets of Paris in a tailored pin-stripe suit (with matching waistcoat), gently swinging my one-of-a-kind, absinthe-bearing companion!
Eccentric? Mais oui! But aren't all true flâneurs?
Hi Eric I took you in my blogroll : you have such a wonderful blog ! it's funny because you took some photos I took also (le Monde, coming soon on my website, and the schulpture in Saint Eustache, which i've seen here some time ago but cannot find anymore) for my blog... :)
ReplyDeleteSee you soon