LThe anecdote is well-known. Coming out of the Ritz, where he had invited some friends to dinner – perhaps Cocteau and Princess Bibesco – Marcel Proust, a regular at places he uses to entertain, turns to the bellboy who greets him: “Could you lend me 500 francs?” “Of course, Monsieur Proust.” “Keep them, they’re for you.” We also love palaces for that. For this attention to detail too, which made César Ritz, the founder of the place, choose pink lampshades to flatter the complexion of the ladies. For this sweetness of life that is literally savored to the end – didn’t Diana, Princess of Wales, have her last meal here, in the Windsor suite?
READ ALSO At the Ritz bar, during the Occupation
Part of a dream
So, when the hotel decides to part with 1,500 pieces of tableware, silverware, glasses and other cocktail essentials snatched from the memory of the Espadon, its legendary restaurant, or the bar liberated by Hemingway and re-enchanted years later by Colin Field, the iconic barman, how can one resist the call of the hammer? It is Artcurial that will set the pace for the sale, with the expertise of an auction house that is not at its first sale of this kind – the big hotel names of the place have understood for several years the interest of auctions when the desire takes them to change carpets, sofas and other curtains.
The estimates are probably not extravagant – part of the […] Read more
