Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Apartment Sealed For 70 Years, Treasure Inside

For nearly three quarters of a century, a woman's Paris apartment lay sealed like a time capsule. After passing on recently, a treasure trove was discovered inside.

The woman reportedly left Paris for the south of France prior to World War II. She never returned to her home, but rent was paid faithfully each month while the apartment was left locked.  When appraisers entered the dust-shrouded flat, it was like stepping back in time.

"There was a smell of old dust," said Olivier Choppin-Janvry, who made the discovery. Walking under high wooden ceilings, past an old wood stove and stone sink in the kitchen, he spotted a stuffed ostrich and a Mickey Mouse toy dating from before the war, as well as an exquisite dressing table." [The Telegraph]

Most startling was the discovering of a painting of the woman by Giovanni Boldini, which recently sold at auction for €2.1 million. The painting depicts Marthe de Florian, a famous actress as well as Boldini's muse and lover.


2 comments:

Sharon Day said...

I LOVE these kinds of stories. I've had a recurring dream since I was a kid that I find a hidden room in my home and it's all dust covered and filled with interesting things left behind by the past owner, telling a story of their life and each trinket is more and more exciting to find.

Cullan Hudson said...

I like the hidden room concept. The summer between my 7th and 8th grades, we drove out to Atlanta. In GA, we stated at "The Trace", an inn house in an old plantation style home with large white columns, etc... Well, in wandering the corridors and outside, I noticed there were more windows than rooms to account for them all. There seemed to be a window where there was no room, as if some chamber had been walled up inside. That set my imagination to running wild.