i am absolutely captivated by this story. a brilliant, unravelling mystery. the one about a completely untouched apartment, left as it was, just before the outbreak of the second world war and not returned to for 70 years. can you imagine? what an exquisite find.
you can read all about it here, but in a nutshell:
mme de florian, a ‘demimondaine’, headed for the south of france before the war and remained there for the rest of life, until she died this year at 91 years old. she continued to pay the rent on her her beautiful apartment for the next 70 years. her home abandoned, it became a time capsule, a tangible snapshot of life as it was paris in the 1930's.
some people have a box of heirloom pieces, an antique clock that sits in pride of place on the mantelpiece, a special vintage quilt they love and saved up for. but here is a life, an entire household with nothing added to, or removed, in decades. not a vignette, a mock-up, or an ode to the 30's but a real home, a luxurious dwelling with the normal paraphernalia and unique accouterments of a life lived.
how i would love the chance to wander through, to handle the old pieces and oh, what a tale.
No comments:
Post a Comment