Second-Hand Goods in Paris [pp. 11-13]

SEC OiVD-HAND GO 0ODS IN PARIS.
was, and that not so very long ago, when
many a treasure might be picked out of this
imass of literary rubbish, but that period is
now past, for the experts ill the trade sort,
examine, and turn over every leaf and volume,
and any thing of value is sure to find its way
into the larger shops, where it is held at its
full price. Second-hand books are, however,
really cheap in Paris, and, with a little pains,
one may contrive to form a very good library
of standard works in neat bindings at comparatively small expense.
Of course the great fount and source from
which this multitude of second-hand shops is
supplied is to be found in the auction-sales.
These take place continually in the H6tel des
Ventes, or Htel Drouot, as it is more commonly called. This hotel, situated on the
Rue Drouot, and back of the site of the old
opera-hlouse, was specially constructed for the
purpose for which it is used. It is neither
handsome of aspect outside, nor commodious
within, and many and loud are the complaints
which have been made of its restricted space
and lack of accommodation. It is divided by
a wide hall, on either side of which open different rooms of moderate size, all of which
are used for sales. Many-colored placards,
very like theatre-bills, are pasted on the walls
of this hall, as well as on the outer walls of
the building, giving accounts of the various
sales which are to take place for a month to
come. Here all the goods sold at public auction in Paris, except books and articles sold
off at the house or apartments, are disposed
of. Through these dingy halls have passed
the treasures of by-gone ages, and of a world;
the marbles of Rome, the glass-work of Murano and Bohemia, Etruscan vases, services
of Sivres, lacquered cabinets, and Smyrna
carpets, to say nothing of the pictures which
have comprised the art-gems of centuries
past. Here was sold a part of the treasures
taken from the Summer Palace at Peking; the
Emperor of China's robes of ceremony, his
jade sceptre, and his mantle of the priceless
fur of the blue fox. Here, too, was offered
the gallery of Marshal Soult, the Duke of
Dalnatia, one masterpiece from which was
bought, by the French Government, for the
sum of five hundred and eighty-six thousand
francs (one hundred and forty-one thousand
dollars), and now adorns the walls of the
Louvre-the exquisite "Immaculate Conception," by Murillo. Here, too, in a dark and
noisome gallery, apart from the main hall, is
sold all the trash and rubbish offered at public sale in Paris: the old clothes, the cast-off
finery, furniture seized for rent or cast aside
as unusable, the relics of defunct theatres,
the remnants of the stock of departed shops.
Here, too, take place the sales of rare plants
and pet animals. This dingy and ill-smelling
gallery has been baptized by the brocanteurs
with the name of Mazas.
The sales generally commence at half-past
one, but the most animated and busiest time
is usually about four. The expert who acts
as auctioneer does not, except in the case of
the sale of engravings, gems, or coins, ad here very closely to the order of his catalogue, but reserves his choicest articles for a
favorable moment, or the arrival of a well known purchaser. The cost of both buying
and selling is exorbitant. The purchaser
must pay five per cent. above the amount of
his bid, which payment does not in the least
benefit the owner of the article sold. Thus
the government was obliged to pay over thirty thousand francs for the percentage on the
price of the great Murillo before mentioned.
As to the unfortunate seller, his case is still
worse. The expenses of a sale rank with the
character of the object sold, and are ten per
cent. on a picture-sale, fifteen for curiosities,
eighteen for engravings, twenty-five for medals, and as high as thirty per cent. and upward on books and autographs. This tax
includes all expenses, such as the rent of the
hall, the catalogues, advertisements, etc., and
well it may.
With the exception of works of art, things
usually sell very cheaply at these auctions.
At a recent one, where some fine furniture
was sold, a pair of handsome arm-chairs of
ebony, inlaid with flowers and figures in
ivory, sold for twenty-two dollars apiece.
The last sale at the IItel Drouot, which attracted general attention and made much sensatioln, was the sale of the diamonds of Mlle.
Durerger, the actress, and the beauty and
value of the jewels drew together an immense
crowd, and very handsome prices were realized.
Sales of books very seldom take place at
the H6tel Drouot-the recognized locality for
such sales being the Maison Silvestre, in the
Rue de Bons Enfants, No. 28. The books
sold at the H6tel Drouot are usually those
which are bound in a specially costly or artistic manner. The sales at the Maison Silvestre take place at seven o'clock in the
evening, the books being on examination the
same day from one o'clock in the afternoon
till five. These sales have their special and
invariable clientele, a group of aged bibliophiles, or frenzied collectors of some one
specialty, who spend hours in examining,
fondling, and coveting the treasures spread
out for their inspection. It is related of two
of these book-lovers that, during the last days
of the Commune, two of them met at the top
of a barricade: one of them was going to see
if the Maison Silvestre was open, and the
other was returning from there, furious at
the auctioneer, who had deserted his.post.
There also took place a little scene between
two ardent book-collectors which may merit
recording. An amateur of moderate fortune
saw adjudged to a more wealthy competitor
an incomparable copy of Montaigne's "Editio Princeps," large paper, and in the original binding, stamped with the arms of
De Thou. After the sale, he approached
his rival, and asked him in a trembling
voice if he would consent to part with his
prize.
"Impossible, sir," was the answer.
"So be it; I will wait!" replied the discomfited bibliophile.
Strange to say, the event for which he
"waited " —namely, the death of the possess or of the coveted treasure — took place in
less than two years.
There exists in Paris a class of men whose
functions, in relation to all sales of second hand wares, whether by public auction or
private adjudication, is fixed and decided, and
who are extremely useful to buyer and seller
alike. These men are known by the title of
commissaires-priseurs, or estimators-a word
which I am forced to coin to express an office which, unfortunately, does not exist with
us. As their title indicates, their office is to
inspect all goods offered for sale, and to calculate their actual value, and the probable
price which they will fetch at auction. Thus,
if a person rents apartments, and wishes to
purchase the furniture of the departing tenant, a comnmissaire-priseur is generally called
in, who proceeds to estimate the value of
every article that the rooms contain. Long
usage and habit have made these men so ex.
pert, and withal so thorough, that their judgment is nearly always to be relied on most
implicitly. Then there are the experts, each
of whom have their specialty-such as modern pictures, ancient pictures, wood-carvings,
porcelain, china, India shawls, and one of
which is always attached to every sale in the
Hotel Drouot. Some of these men, though
marvels of acuteness and intelligence in the
line of their one special branch of knowledge,
are otherwise very ignorant. The greatest
expert on the old masters which the H6tel
des Ventes ever possessed -a man whose
death made an unfillable void-was in other
respects a man of the grossest ignorance,
and that too in spite of the nature of his calling, which brought him into contact with art
in its highest development.
We must not turn from the subject of the
second-hand goods of Paris without speaking
of the Temple, once, in its rickety, tumbledown sheds, a curiosity for all strangers to
visit. Now, clean, commodious, and respectable, and installed in a handsome edifice of
glass and iron, it resembles its past self as
little as the close-shaven, neatly-clad convict
resembles the filthy wretch that groveled in
haunts of vice beyond the ken of judge or
policeman. The old names given to its various quarters, such as Le Pou Volant and La
Foret Noire, are still retained, but their significance has departed. Second-han, goods
are still offered for sale at the booths, but so
cleaned and furbished up that they look as
good as new. But the Temple, in losing its
horror, has lost much of its interest. Besides
which, the holders of the booths, on descrying a respectably-dressed visitor, are accustomned to rush out and lay violent hands on
him or her, hoping thereby to secure a customer, so that it is not pleasant to pay that
once-curious spot a visit.
The oddest of the commerce in secondhand goods is to me represented by two signs
which I have lately seen in the streets of
Paris. One, on the Rue de la Paix, announces that" second-hand gloves are bought
and sold here;" and the other, in the Rue
des Ecuires d'Artois, sets forth that " secondhand boots and shoes are bought and sold
here."
Thus, the thrifty nature of the economical French people manifests itself. Noth ing, not even an old glove or an old shoe, is
thrown aside till every particle of use it is
capable of rendering has been given, and
every particle of value has been extracted
from it.
Lucy H. HooPrR.
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