Treasure trove at Marche des Puces (3rd Oct 2010)

One of the things l REALLY wanted to do was go to one of the many Markets there are in Paris. Eventually, on Sunday ( think it is open Saturday as well) we went to Marche des Puces. 

I was in my element, the only problem....l didn't bring enough money. When we go next time l will be better armed. "Stuff" is so much cheaper than over here in UK. I managed to get embroidery threads (the quality is so much better from old threads), watch faces, stamps, a wonderful old letter and envelope, old dressmaking magazine (plus its paper patterns) and some tiny, old, glass medicine bottles.

There were so many stall holders selling old keys..it is amazing isn't it how rust can make a key look old?

There were also so many stalls covered in buttons, loose and in sets of 12. The image below showas that this stall holder had a write-up in an American newspaper. l could have bought hundreds of them, small, large, pearl, pottery, metal, silver, decorated, painted and so much more! Heaven!

Hello me. I couldn't resist taking an image of myself in this old mirror!

I have always loved puppets, because of an uncle l had years ago, who introduced me to puppets and the art of puppetry. I also love these Indian puppets that are very simple to operate but are clothed so sumptuously.

This next image is of a doll hanging from a thread but it looks to me as if it should be a puppet. Tried to talk to the stall holder about it but he had no English and l did not have enough French to ask the right questions. Tony who does speak French, wandered off, so as l had to learn through struggle.. his words!!!

Puppets again...l could have hundreds of them but money, and space availability in my two bedroom flat, stops me!! You can also see in this image a glass fronted box containing butterflies. I really don't like these because these butterflies should be free and flying around, not stuffed in a box.

Again there were lots of stalls selling old dolls. Clothed, naked, plastic, porcelain, china, black, white, brown, Chinese, Arabic and any other colour or country you could think of. 

 For as long as l can remember, l have wanted a dressmaker's manikin. Why? l have no idea but, my goodness, there were so many for sale here in the market. The image below is one of the best l saw, can you see they have even made her neck look correct? I think l may have caused a few heads to turn if l had tried to bring her back on the Eurostar with me!! (Never mind what Tony would have said!)

As l got older l found that l could, after all, wear hats and, surprise, surprise they suited me. Since then, l have found every excuse to buy a hat or two! In this market there were many 40's and 50's hats being sold. Many of the hats were quite dainty and several of them were covered in feathers.

This next image is of a suitcase that caught my eye mainly because of the interest this Chinese man was showing in it. The suitcase was made from crocodile skin; the lid had all the raised bits of the skin on it. Just don't sit on it because it could be quite painful! When we lived in Papua New Guinea, l was lucky enough to go to a crocodile farm. I don't actually like the idea of breeding animals just to kill them for decorative items but it was an interesting experience. I never realised til then how wide and how long they could grow! I was told this case was from around 1700 and came from Africa.

As you go into this particular market there are signs telling you not to take photographs. Um....what was l to do? Well, l decided to ask stall holders if l could take images and secondly l would just hold my camera at waist height and click! Not one of the stall holders said no and even though people could see what l was doing, they often just smiled at me and carried on working or walking!

I hate to ask what this glass tube is for...medical or pleasure do you suppose?

Some stalls were just tables, some were out of the back of their vans, some just laid their simple stuff on the floor and others had very complicated stalls.

I would have loved to have taken this little wire bust home with me but my suitcase was not big enough!! Ha!

I saw a lot of these brass bowls when we lived in Dubai many, many years ago. They were used for food and for washing and these days for decoration in many homes all over the world. But be warned, they take a lot of elbow grease and polish!

One of the things that really surprised me was the number of stalls l found selling fox furs and other animal furs. I was also quite surprised how many women, old and young, that were wearing real fur openly in Paris!

But looking at this fox(?) fur and head...l have to admit it is an amazing colour; l can see why many women would want to wear one, but NOT ME!