Portland Public Library

Curiosities of Paris, an idiosyncratic guide to overlooked delights... hidden in plain sight, Dominique Lesbros ; translated by Simon Beaver

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

mapsillustrations

index present

non fiction

Curiosities of Paris

bibliography

957744553

Dominique Lesbros ; translated by Simon Beaver

an idiosyncratic guide to overlooked delights... hidden in plain sight

"This absorbing compendium is an essential addition to the library of the armchair traveler and flaneur alike. Lavishly illustrated with 800 color photographs, this fact-packed treasury leads readers through the streets of Paris and, by pointing out unique locations and architectural oddities, as well as utilitarian objects whose functions have long been obscured with the passage of time, reveals a previously unnoticed city. Organized by subject--fountains and wells; centuries-old shop signs; vestiges of wars and ancient Egypt; hotels of legend; civic measurement devices; traces of rites and superstitions; remarkable trees; sundials and meridians; equestrian Paris; romantic ruins; unusual tombs, stairways, and passageways; religious relics; mosaics; public barometers and thermometers; and hundreds more urban elements and anachronisms--this delightful guide deepens the reader's knowledge and appreciation of Paris through the centuries. In the introduction to her unusual encyclopedia of the Parisian streetscape, Dominique Lesbros writes, "a city is nothing if not a vast cabinet of curiosities." Entrez! The book also includes three themed walks (along the city's ancient walls, in the steps of Quasimodo, and through the French Revolution), as well as an index of street names"--, Provided by publisher

Paris, equine capital -- The City of Light -- On the trail of the city walls -- In search of lost time -- Remarkable trees -- The Quasimodo tour -- Springs eternal -- Urban signage -- Architectural oddities -- Romantic ruins -- Revolutionary Paris -- Wounds of war -- Curious tombs -- The people's devotion -- Superstitions & pagan rites -- Surprising & shocking sculptures -- A fabulous urban menagerie -- Ceramics & mosaics -- Antique & suspended signs -- A new lease on life -- Au fur et a mesure -- Egyptian Paris -- Metro memorabilia -- Hotels of legend -- Whispering walls -- The last of the Mohicans -- So what's that for?