Photography and text by Corey Amaro.
Voluntary Sale.
Twenty-one lots for sale.
By, Mr. D'Agrain, notary, Isère, France.
Property Sale
February 2, 1896, at 1:30
Price Range: 300 French Francs to 1200 French Francs.
Back in 1987…..
French Husband's Great Uncle had died, leaving everything to his only child, Louise, French Husband's cousin who was nearly eighty.
Louise's Father's home was a lovely two story house in the country. Her Father had a wooden shoe manufacturing company, and a home filled with beautiful antique furniture, paintings, books, mirrors, dishes, linens… there was barely breathing room between the walls and the furniture. It was stuffed beyond imagination from the attic, down through the two floors, into the basement, pouring out in the yard, and gorging out of the garage. You might say he had it all and then some.
Simply said: He had the brocante bug badly, and stacks of wooden shoes.
Louise had asked her six cousins to come over to her Father's house, she had somethings she wanted to give each of them. French Husband, his five cousins and I gathered on the front lawn. Louise handed each of them a notebook and a pencil, then told them to go into the house where they would see numbers on everything, if they saw anything that they liked they were to cross the number off the item then write it down in the notebook with a brief description. She said, she had everything she needed, and since she did not have any children herself she thought they might like to have a few things from her father's house before she gave the stuff away. Louise clapped her hands encouraging them to go inside…
I had just met French Husband's family the day before, I felt so odd being there, it was such a personal family moment, yet I cannot deny how excited I was to see what was inside.
To be continued…
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