Category Archives: Paris

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

Posted on August 11, 2015 by booksandbuttons

What a wonderful book!  A good friend recommended it to me in the spring and I added it to my summer reading plan. For some reason, a lot of other selections barged their way in and I didn’t decide to … Continue reading →

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A Schiaparelli Swimsuit

Posted on May 8, 2014 by booksandbuttons

Last year O’Half bought this book for me at an auction. It was published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art that ran from September 28, 2003 to January 4, 2004. It is out of print … Continue reading →

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National Button Week 2014 Part IV “The Ladies” (backmarks of Paris)

Posted on March 19, 2014 by booksandbuttons

Today’s topic for National Button Week is lady buttons with interesting backmarks.  Some collectors like to specialize in the BACKS of buttons and how they’re marked. . .

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Book Review: The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas by Gertrude Stein

Posted on January 14, 2014 by booksandbuttons

First line: “I was born in San Francisco, California.”  Now, we don’t know if that means that Alice B. Toklas was, or if the author, Gertrude Stein was. (it was Alice)   That first line is just about the only … Continue reading →

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National Button Week 2013 Part 5: Buttons from Paris

Posted on March 21, 2013 by booksandbuttons

This fine button is by French designer Roger Jean-Pierre. He worked for fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli from 1934 to 1939. She was a wild, innovative designer—with matching wild, innovative buttons. More about her another day . . . Then he … Continue reading →

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The Books I Bought in Paris

Posted on July 14, 2012 by booksandbuttons

You already know I bought buttons when I was in Paris.  But I never caught up with you about the books I bought.  And since today July 14th is Bastille Day, it seems fitting to do a post about France. There … Continue reading →

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A Little Art from Paris

Posted on June 23, 2012 by booksandbuttons

Ah, gay Paree!  The art center of the world—for centuries! The art my husband and I enjoy the most is that done in the early part of the 20th Century–when artists from all around the world came to live in … Continue reading →

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More Buttons from Paris

Posted on June 13, 2012 by booksandbuttons

By popular demand—a photo of the two blue sparkly buttons from the last post–a closeup: On to new business– one day we headed out early toward Montmartre.  We took the metro and when we got off our stop nearby, we … Continue reading →

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Buttons from Paris

Posted on June 12, 2012 by booksandbuttons

First thing on the agenda when we got to Paris was to make a beeline for Ultramod Mercerie at 4 Rue de Choiseul in the 2nd arrondissement.  It’s an unpretentious looking little shop in a narrow street: It’s in a … Continue reading →

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Some Cafes of Paris

Posted on June 11, 2012 by booksandbuttons

The secret to existence, and making it through your visit to Paris, is to happily fall into the cafes of Paris.  When you think you can’t possibly go through another huge gallery of paintings, or walk another step to the … Continue reading →

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