La Belle Brocante

Play With Me Again?

Another guessing game.

This one is a little tamer than the last - no hearts involved!

You ask questions.

I answer. 

Yes or No. Sometimes with qualifiers.

Whoever guesses correctly wins the antique French map.

If two (or more) guess correctly, a bunfight ensues I will draw a name.

 

And what are we guessing about, you might wonder?

The latest addition to the Brocante household museum.

A find that is truly special.

 

Ready? Set? Go!

 

Was it once alive? Yes.

When alive did it take flight? No.

Is it older than a 1925 Chevrolet? Yes. It's even older than a 1925 Miller Junior Eight!

Does it have a skeletal body? Mmm ... yes?

Would it need a "key" to live again? No.

Is it small enough to fit into a printer's tray? No.

Perhaps a "hand" to hold? Yes. Perhaps. Ms. Cryptic. But just as easily No.

Is it an invertebrate? No.

A reptile? (lovely lizard) No. 

If not feathers then fur? Um ... no.

Fish? No.

Made of bone or metal? Yes, partially. No.

Ivory a sailor's valentine? No.

Is it ethereal? No. Not in the sense you mean. But it is to me ...

If it is made partially from bones, are the bones used to create something new? (---in other words, something different from the animal the bones came from?) No. Not really.

 

Complaints Department, Charlie Speaking...

Charlie is feeling less than enthused with this guessing game idea.

He prefers to be the center of my attention.

Me rolling around on the floor, laughing at your questions and suggestions? Pathetic.

12 hour days at work have taken a toll on his good nature, so I am off to fluff and cuddle and apologize in advance for the entertainment to come.

We'll get started tomorrow afternoon.

xoxo

 

Cartes Routières

Early 1900s Michelin maps of northern France. Paper on linen. 

Having survived the first month of school, with endless meetings, planning sessions, piles of paperwork, and long lists, it's time to take a breather.

I can feel a wonderul guessing game brewing. Perhaps a guessing game similar to the affair of the heart. 

A beautiful map, aged gracefully for 100 years, would make a suitable prize, non?

Would you like to play?

 

Bulletins de Naissance

Fallen

 

Dust to Dust

An 1800s glass topped specimen box from France. 

Such fragility. Most did not survive the journey. 

I do not want to show you the tender dust collected in the corners.

 

 

Happenstance

My life revolves around antique French papers. I spend hours leafing and shuffling through stacks of old documents and letters. Birth and death notices. Swirls and curls. Ruffles of cotton rag.

But somehow I'd missed this one until this evening when I was searching for marriage documents.

I turned it over and noticed a piece of cardboard jammed in one corner. 

I unfolded it a little further to remove the cardboard, assuming I would toss it in the recycling.

And found the most glorious hand-inked pips staring back at me.

Six perfect little trèfles dating from at least 1782.

Happenstance.

One of those perfect little moments that makes my life go round.

 

Par la Grâce de Dieu

Joséphine Eléonore Marie Pauline de Galard de Brassacede Béarn, Princesse de Broglie, succumbed to consumption at the age of 35.

 

Etsy Update

Etsy update this evening, including some lovely late-1700s letters from Paris ... enjoy!

 

xoxo

 

p.s. some renewed items landed after the new stuff. sorry!

 

1832 Document

Antique French survey document dated 1832. All plans hand ruled and watercoloured.