Throwback Thursday: Calling Cards

"To the unrefined or underbred, the visiting card is but a trifling & insignificant bit of paper; but to the cultured disciple of social law, it conveys a subtle & unmistakable intelligence. Its texture, style of engraving, & even the hour of leaving it combine to place the stranger, whose name it bears, in a pleasant or a disagreeable attitude, even before his manners, conversation & face have been able to explain his social position." -John H. Young, 1879

We've got some great new modern-day calling cards in the store right now & after doing a little research on the history of this social tradition, we just had to share what we found out. Calling cards were mostly popular during the Georgian, Regency, & Victorian eras, & they were used when a gentleman or lady wished to call upon friends or acquaintances, or to announce their presence in town. They were generally quite simple, in a lady's case, bearing only her name, & in a gentleman's case, only his name & address. Men's cards were typically slightly slimmer than women's as they had to carry the cards around in their breast pocket. The blank space on the cards was often used for written notes or to invite the recipient to a social event. Cards were also often initialed or had a specific corner folded down to signify something.


The turning down of the card’s corners:

• A visit in person (as opposed to being sent by a servant): the right hand upper corner
• A congratulatory visit: the left hand upper corner
• A condolence visit: the left hand lower corner
• Taking leave (if you were going on a long trip): right hand lower corner
• If there were two of more ladies in the household, the gentleman turned down a corner of the card to indicate that the call was designed for the whole family.

Initialing a calling card:
(The initials stood for French words)

• p. f. – congratulations (pour féliciter)
• p. r. – expressing one’s thanks (pour remercier)
• p. c. – mourning expression (pour condoléance)
• p. f. N. A. – Happy New Year (pour feliciter Nouvel An)
• p. p. c. – meaning to take leave (pour prendre congé)
• p. p. – if you want to be introduced to anybody, send your visiting card (pour présenter)

We are just absolutely taken by the idea of this social tradition from the past & we would love to see it catch on again! So come on by the store & peruse our collection of calling cards so you too can become a proper lady or gentleman of society! ;)

Throwback Thursday: 36 West Broughton Street

One thing that we get asked about a lot is the history of our amazing building. And while we know bits & pieces, we decided to take a little field trip to the Georgia Historical Society to do some more serious digging. And we found out some pretty interesting stuff!

Our building in the distance on the left

Our building is located in Derby Ward, which was one of the first four original wards in downtown Savannah when the city was founded in 1773. In 1851, the structure in our current building's location, as well as many of the buildings around it, were completely lost in a fire. This was due largely in part to the fact that the buildings at this time were primarily constructed of wood.

Derby Ward

It wasn't until 1878 that the building that we occupy today came to be, thanks to a man named John Lyons. We found this excerpt published in the Savannah Morning News on May 31, 1978: "The handsome building known as the "Lyons Block," at the corner of Whitaker & Broughton streets...is the adoration of every citizen & is justly regarded as not only a decided ornament to Broughton Street, the great retail business thoroughfare of Savannah, but as probably the handsomest & most stylist row of buildings in the city." (Whew those writers back in 1878 were wordy!)

The article goes on to say: "The first floor of the corner building, which fronts on Broughton & Whitaker streets, will be occupied by Mr. John Lyons as a wholesale & retail grocery establishment...The store is provided with large magnificent show windows on both streets & splendid commodious entrances, and will be the finest looking establishment in the city. The cellar is 30 x 90 feet, has a brick floor cemented, thorough ventilation & light, and is perfectly dry & clean. In fact, no better cellars can be found anywhere than those with which the various stores in this block are provided."

Early 1900s

From then on, the Lyons Block became the mixed-used commercial center of Broughton Street. In addition to Mr. Lyon's grocery store, other rooms in the property served as everything from a dentist's office to a shoe store to a pub. The third floor of the building was even at one time known as Lyons Hall & served as a meeting place for social organizations. Although the facade of the building was drastically altered & modernized in the 1950s, by the time 36 West Broughton Street became home to The Paris Market in 2005, the building had been beautifully restored to it's original Italianate style.

1941

Happy (Vintage) Thanksgiving!!

As is typical here at The Paris Market, we'll take any chance we can get to do things with a little bit of vintage flair. And especially on Thanksgiving of all days, it only feels right to give a little throw back to simpler times & what better way to do so than with these delightful vintage postcards. We have so much to be thankful for this year. From this beautiful city we get to call home to our friends (including furry friends!) & family near & far to this crazy adventure called life, we truly feel blessed. So from all of us here at The Paris Market, here's wishing you the happiest of Thanksgivings! We hope your day includes a generous heaping of rest & relaxation, followed, of course, by a warm meal shared with the people whom you love the most! Bon appétit! 

Throwback Thursday: Butterfly Collection

If you're a Paris Market regular, or even if you've only been in the store a handful of times, I'm sure you haven't been able to miss our amazing collection of butterflies. From cloches full of these beautiful winged creatures in which they almost appear to be fluttering around, to mounted pieces where they form striking, kaleidoscopic patterns, they are not easy to ignore. However, besides the shear beauty of these unique little insects, what makes this collection all the more fascinating is the story behind where it came from...

And where might that be, you ask? These butterflies once called The Gallery of Creation, formerly located in Stone Mountain, Georgia, their home. The Gallery of Creation, created by Joseph Hunt & his wife in 1978, was a quirky, little natural history museum that set out to "present examples of God's creation in such a beautiful manner that one is inspired to have a greater appreciation for God's handiwork & a greater love for our creator." And I've got to say, religious beliefs aside, it certainly sounds like they had some fascinating exhibits. From nearly 300 animatronic, talking animals to a giant Tyrannosaurus-Rex skull to a 102 lb. iron meteorite, The Gallery of Creation must have been a sight to behold. And, of course, I'd be remiss to mention that they also boasted one of the largest mounted butterfly displays in the United States. After moving to a new location in 2008, the museum officially closed its doors in 2010 & all of the exhibits were sold at auction. And although it's always a little sad to see such a unique business have to shut down, we're certainly glad that we were able to give these beautiful butterflies a new home. Be sure to stop by the store soon to see this wonderful collection for yourself. 

Throwback Thursday: Halloween Costumes

With Halloween being only a day away, we felt it was only right to dedicate this week's Throwback Thursday to the Halloween costumes of yesteryear. While we certainly have our own unique brand of costumes living in a city full of art students, there's just something rather remarkable about these vintage costumes. Maybe it's just that the black & white of the photographs make them seem especially nostalgic or the fact that even though times were much simpler then, it's evident that people still dedicated a great amount of thought & effort to making elaborate costumes. Either way, we can't get enough of all these amazing costumes! Check them out to get some inspiration for your own costume this year & have a Happy Halloween!