Category: Paris

A Wonderful Musical Evening at Colonel Thorn’s

Love this description from the GAZETTE MUSICALE DE PARIS in 1835! Alice Thorn sang a duet by Handel.A wonderful musical evening took place this week at Colonel Thorn, with the aim of rescuing our unfortunate comrades-triotes from Guadeloupe, and it is believed that the product will have exceeded the figure of 10,000 fr. The hero... Continue Reading →

0

Mr Vester-Sandor Performs at Colonel Thorn’s Salon

I love encountering people who were in the Thorn's lives. It really helps to recreate the times, the way they lived, and the relationships that came and went. Recently, I discovered this mention of Vester Sandor, a dancer, musician, and leader of a dance troupe who played at Colonel Thorn's salon, who was later arrested... Continue Reading →

2

Rue de Varenne’s Address Changes

I was fascinated to come across a list of who was living on the Rue de Varenne during the time that the Thorns inhabited the Hotel Matignon. Interestingly, this record has them living at no. 23 not no. 57. This may have something to do with the street numbers changing over time (see below). I'm... Continue Reading →

0

Alice Thorn de Ferussac’s Inheritance Pt 2

I discovered a second report from the New York Herald on the matter of Alice (Thorn) de Ferussac's inheritance. This one was dated in June, while the other was from April, 1913. Though most of the details are the same, it does mention Thorn's run in with authorities for driving a coach and 8 horses.... Continue Reading →

0

A Boring dinner for 50 – Count Rodolphe Apponyi

I'm constantly surprised at how uncharitable people in the Parisian aristocratic social scene were. It's as though being rude is a sport of its own! Here, the Count Apponyi keeps a diary entry about a disastrous dinner at the Thorns. March 15. Mr. Thorn, the famous American, gave us a dinner for fifty people, boring... Continue Reading →

0

Mary Thorn and John Van Buren

In looking back through some source material, I noticed that John Van Buren, an American politician, had written to his father, President Martin Van Buren about Mary Thorn (de Varaigne), Jane, and James on Thursday 21/2/1839 in Paris: Calling Mary "his old belle" is interesting, considering that she was fifteen or sixteen when she eloped... Continue Reading →

0

Salon de 1853

In the Salon of 1853 both Disderi and Gayrard displayed works. For Gayrard it was the bronze statue of The Lady on Horseback (Jane Thorn de Pierres). Whereas Disderi was exhibiting his portait photography. This year the famous exhibition was moved to northern Paris, and not everyone was happy with this. There were 1,768 works... Continue Reading →

0

Madame Adelaide and the Colonel

I came across this rather vicious description of of King Louis-Philippe's sister, Madame Adelaide, and her connection to Colonel Thorn. It seems that within Parisian society they both had plenty of critics. If this can be believed, the Colonel was fearful of being "papped" by the likes of Alphonse Karr, who had written many scathing... Continue Reading →

0

Jane and Etienne de Pierres – Paris Residences

Thanks to Serge, I did some digging around as to where Jane and Etienne (Stephan) lived in Paris and have found record of them at 16 Rue Montaigne in the 8th, near the Champs Elysees. The building now seems to be home to designer labels such as Armani and Cucinelli. This would have been in... Continue Reading →

2

Create a website or blog at WordPress.com

Up ↑