Antique French Thermometer Stand, Trinket Tray, c.1830 Palais Royal, MO Pearl
A little "vide poche" from early 1800s (the style with the little cut brass fringe is very old!), and an item that would have originally been offered, most likely, in the boutiques of the old Palais Royal, Paris. The history-rich old palace of Cardinal Richelieu, later center of culture and commerce to the very well-heeled of society, c.1700-1900, and still in full operation today, just a stone's throw from the Louvre. Along those covered promenades that flanked the center gardens, the small elegant ware-stocked boutiques would have been quite a draw. And one could purchase anything from high end whimsical items like this one, to elegant clothing, furnishings, fine sterling silver and china, opulently fitted travel chests as only the French could make them, and etc.. Little wonder we're still all fascinated with the elegant objects of the era and history. This is a little vide poche, as I said, and that's, literally, an empty pocket. It is the little item that one would have bedside in