|
 one of the great bordellos of fin de siecle Paris. Yet the chair in Prague turns out to be a replica. Could the real one still exist?
To find out I take the eurostar to Paris, and trek to Le Chabanais in the 2nd arrondissement. In its heyday, the sober facade of this inner-city townhouse hid a riotously ornate interior - a world of mirrors and velvet, where beautiful trollops would stand bare-breasted on pedestals, for the delectation of the wealthy punter.
All this was swept away in 1946, when Le Chabanais, and the other "tolerated houses", were abolished in a fit of post-war puritanism. The madams, the girls and their clients were scattered. But what happened to the famous fixtures; what happened to the chair?
In the modernist towers of the Bibliotheque Nationale I consult the records. They tell me that the
|
|
  |
 |
|
| The girl at reception has a fit of giggles when I ask her if I can see the English King’s oral sex chair |
|
|
armchair of love miraculously survived La Fermeture [the closing], and was bought at auction in 1946 by an industrialist. The chair was then resold at Drouot, another Parisian auction house.
A metro ride takes me there, but when I ask the girl at reception about "the English king's oral sex chair" (try saying that in French), she has a fit of giggles. Finally she confirms that the chair went under the hammer for a third time.
"Herve Poulain," she tells me, "auctioned the armchair in 1996." Eventually I track down M Poulain in his office. After some cajoling, he calls "a certain client". Then he turns, and smiles: Oui, the chair survives.
Huzzah! I have one more question. Is the chair still... used?
"Naturellement."
I haven't the guts to ask how. 
FIRST
POSTED DECEMBER 6
|
go back...page 2 of 2
