Gallery - Other Places
The Sisters' Childhood Home in Paris
The Hotel de Mailly Nesle, the sisters' childhood home; first photo on the left. It still exists today at #29-31 Quai Voltaire (the Quai des Theatins was renamed in 1791 to honor Voltaire). The facade that you see is not original to the sisters' era: I'm no expert on Parisian architecture, but I think what generally happened was that the front wall with the gate was usually only 1 or 2 stories tall (see an example from the Rue Grenelle in the photo on the far right). As the population grew and the city densified, additional stories were built on top of the original gatehouses. You can see more what I'm talking about in the little excerpt from Turgot's (amazing) map of Paris in 1739, showing the Hotel Mailly Nesle as it would have been during the sisters' childhoods - where "H. de Mailly" is written is today's Quai Voltaire, along the Seine. At some point the house around the corner on the Rue du Bac (the five story house) was purchased and incorporated into the Hotel.
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Click on the photographs for larger image and caption
The house is owned by the French government, and is due to be auctioned off in 2016. So all I need to do is sell 50 million copies of Sisters and I will be able to afford it! I'm not exaggerating. Sadly, very little remains of the interior of the house, original to how it might have been when the sisters lived there. The DILA, which has their offices in the building, was kind enough to show me around - a very cool experience! Below are pics (I have discovered I am a terrible photographer) of the famous Gold Boudoir of their mother, the Wood Room with original wood paneling (stripped of paint) and a few other original details, as well as the cellars - definitely original to the 18th century and used today for meetings.
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Click on the photographs for larger image and caption
But sadly, most of the interior has been destroyed or covered over. Sigh. Here's what it looks like today:
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Round the corner on the Rue du Bac, the house that formed part of the Hotel Mailly Nesle during the 18th century. Apparently this was the house that Louis XV bought for Marie Anne, when she took back her childhood home from the people who had been renting it. Today it is private apartments and not connected in any way to the Hotel Mailly Nesle on the Quai Voltaire.
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Click on the photographs for larger image and caption
Other Places
The land that gave the name and title to the sisters' father was located around the village of Nesle in Picardy. The sisters' ancestors had been living there since the 12th century, and in 1546 the lands of the family were elevated to a marquisate. I haven't visited the village, though I would certainly love to. Below is a postcard of the main square in the early 20th century, and on the right is a (so blurry as to be completely useless) peek at the ruins of the old castle - apparently all that remains today are a few ruined walls, on private land still owned by members of the Mailly-Nesle family.
The Chateau de Choisy, bought by Louis XV in 1739; in the picture on the left you can see the Seine at the bottom of the gardens. Here Louis enjoyed "getting away from it all", though by the 1750s he was regularly traveling here with his children and many members of the Court. But it still remained a private residence, not subject to the ceremony and etiquette of Versailles. It no longer exists, sadly; it fell into disrepair after the Revolution and was gradually torn down. The picture on the right could be from the Sisters era - if you look closely you can see the ladies wearing "Watteau style" backs which were popular from the early years of the 18th century to about the 1770s.
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Click on the photographs for larger image and caption
The Chateau de Rambouillet, owned during Louis XV's time by the Comte and Comtesse de Rambouillet. Louis often came here to hunt and escape the rigors and rigidity of Versailles life. The bulk of the chateau is modern, but the corners are anchored by magnificent 14th century towers.
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Click on the photographs for larger image and caption
This was the convent of Port Royal in Paris, today part of the Cochin Hospital in Paris' 14th arrondissement.
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Click on the photographs for larger image and caption
And finally, a bit of miscellany:
