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PARIS 7th district

THE RIGHT STUFF: TAXIDERMY AT THE MAISON DEYROLLE

Deyrolle

The brown facade of Deyrolle, rue du Bac, hides one of the strangest treasures of Paris, a vast collection of stuffed animals, preserved insects and impaled butterflies that looks more like a cabinet of curiosities than a shop. . Deyrolle, which opened at this address in 1888, was once a magnet for thrill-seeking surrealists like André Breton and Salvador Dalí, and his flocks of exotic birds, the bands of motionless big cats and the rows of butterflies resembling to jewelry continue to fascinate visitors and customers.

Maison Deyrolle

L'entreprise de taxidermie de la famille Deyrolle a en fait été fondée en 1831, mais s'est installée en 1888 dans ce vaste hôtel particulier de la rue du Bac.

Maison Deyrolle

Fondé par une famille de lépidoptéristes, Deyrolle a énormément bénéficié de l'essor des sciences naturelles au XIXe siècle.

Maison Deyrolle

L'entreprise de taxidermie de la famille Deyrolle a en fait été fondée en 1831, mais s'est installée en 1888 dans ce vaste hôtel particulier de la rue du Bac.

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The Deyrolle family's taxidermy business was actually founded in 1831, but it moved in 1888 to this vast mansion on rue du Bac. Founded by a family of lepidopterists, Deyrolle benefited enormously from the development of natural sciences in the 19th century.

A fire devastated the building in 2008, destroying around 90% of the collections. A number of renowned artists donated works that were auctioned off to help fund the renovation.

Deyrolle reopened in 2009, with a new collection enriched by donations from commercial sponsors and private collectors.

The collections are not exclusively terrestrial: they include corals, crustaceans and shells.

Beetles have been meticulously pieced together around fine threads.

Deyrolle's butterfly collections are always enriched by lepidopterists from all over the world.

Although the history of taxidermy in Deyrolle began as a discipline of zoological education, it soon became popular with hunters who wanted their trophies to be preserved for posterity.

Deyrolle still rides animals for private clients. "If the animal has not been kept in a freezer," the website says, "it should be brought to the first floor of the store as soon as possible."

The new banks of the Seine

berges de seine