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Author Archives: Parisian Fields
Madame Mozart dies in Paris
When, a few weeks ago, a broadcaster mentioned that Mozart’s mother had died in Paris in 1778, my first thought was: I don’t even know her name! I knew about Wolfgang Amadeus, his hard-driving father Leopold, his gifted sister Nannerl, … Continue reading
The writing on the wall, part two
After posting the last blog, I had a nagging feeling that there was a question I had not answered and a connection I had not made. I found the question by looking at the images again. It was that date: … Continue reading
Posted in Paris architecture, Paris film, Paris shops, Paris streets
Tagged Affichage National, Albert Guillaume, colonnes dufayel, Emile Zola, Eugene Atget, Freedom of the press, Georges Dufayel, Georges Méliès, Gustave Rives, Jacques François Crespin, Leonetto Cappiello, Loi du 29 juillet 1881, Palais de la Nouveauté
16 Comments
The writing on the wall
I once bought a book called How to Read Paris, which was really just a book about the city’s architecture. If I were to write a book with that title, I would talk about the words on the city’s walls. … Continue reading
Posted in Paris streets
Tagged Association Valentin Haüy, Confucius, Eileen Gray, ghost signs, graffiti, nuit debout, Philippe Starck, street signs
5 Comments
Rondo Parisien
For years, concerts “Chez Nous,” presented by Mary Ann Warrick in her home in the 16th, have been a highlight of our visits to Paris. Now we watch concerts in that familiar drawing room online. Recently, we saw a brilliant … Continue reading
Posted in Paris music
Tagged Alexandre Dumas, Alicia Cannon Levin, Camille Moke, Camille Pleyel, Clara Schumann, Franz Liszt, Frederic Chopin, Friedrich Kalkbrenner, Gerard de Nerval, Hector Berlioz, Henri Guillaume Moke, Jean-Jacques Moke, Lisa Yui, Marie Madeleine Segnitz, Marie Pleyel
16 Comments
A Penny for a Dancer’s Son
A few weeks ago, Norman embarked on some long-deferred tidying up and came across a beautiful bronze disc about 12 cm in diameter (not quite 5 inches across). He said he’d had it for years, and had probably bought it … Continue reading
Posted in Toronto, World War I
Tagged Archie Joseph Bury Palliser, Cambrin, Dalton Baker, Isabel Bizet-Michau, Madame Michau, Sophie d’Egville
15 Comments
Red children and foundling wheels
Some Paris names evoke long-gone places in the city’s past. The name Tuileries now represents a garden, before that a palace with a violent history, and before that, an area where tiles were made. I’ve always found it interesting that … Continue reading
Posted in Paris history, Paris hospitals, Paris markets
Tagged Assistance Publique de Paris, Île de la Cité, Boulevard Denfert-Rochereau, Charles Marville, Enfants de Dieu, foundling wheel, Hôpital de la Trinité, Hôpital St-Vincent-de-Paul, Henri Pottin, Hospice des Enfants Assistés, Hotel Dieu, Institution de l'Oratoire, Jean le Rond d’Alembert, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Marché des Enfants Rouges, Rachel Ginnis Fuchs, St Vincent de Paul, St. Vincent de Paul, tour d'abandon, wet nurses
14 Comments
The strange case of the disappearing hotel
Norman recently bought, sight unseen, a shoebox of French postcards from a man in Winnipeg. Among them was a series of images from a Paris hotel called the St-James and Albany. They set me off on a hunt that led … Continue reading
Posted in Paris history, Paris hotels, Paris postcards
Tagged Charles-François Lebrun, Drouot auction house, Earl of Bridgewater, Elisabeth Vigée-LeBrun, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Henriette Anne Louise de Noailles, Hotel de Noailles, Hotels St-James & d'Albany, Lady Verney, Lord Egerton, Marquis de Lafayette, Musée Carnavalet, rue d'Alger, rue de Rivoli, rue St-Honoré, Thomas Mann, Unsinkable Molly Brown
20 Comments
Asylum
Last month, when I learned that absinthe had been known as the “Charenton omnibus” – Charenton being the site of a famous mental hospital – I became curious about mental institutions in the Paris area. There are many interesting stories … Continue reading
A taste of France
Many years ago, a friend gave me a birthday present consisting of three small objects, with a card that read: “What every young woman needs: a car, a taste of France, and a chance at a million.” The car was … Continue reading
Posted in Paris flea markets, Paris food, Paris history, Paris popular culture, World War I
Tagged absinthe, anise, fennel, pastis, Paul Verlaine, Pernod, Ricard, tarragon
21 Comments
Parisian Fields 