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Performing dogsA gentleman with a whip controls four dogs dancing on their hind legs dressed in the latest fashions on stage. The dog show continues to attract crowds at the Theatre Montansier in Versailles
Scene from La Marchande des ModesScene from Etienne Jouys 1808 play La Marchande des Modes, a parody of La Vestale (his own opera from 1807 with music by Spontini)
The Incomparable Ravel, French rope dancerThe incomparable Ravel, a guitar-playing French tightrope artist from the early 19th century, with two dancers on thick ropes
New Years GiftsA boy in dragoon uniform scrabbles for sweets under his fathers legs, while a baby plays with a puppet on his mothers lap. A black servant boy prays for a gift at left
Old woman giving a magic lantern showThe old style. An old woman showing a young dandy and merveilleuses old-fashioned scenes with a magic lantern. The images are artist without pretension, the studious young man
Shop girls preparing for bed. Wearing turbans, shawls and lowcut cotton nightshifts, four shopgirls relax before bed. Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
Cavalcade at Longchamp racetrackCavalcade de Longchamp. Two incroyables (fops) mounted on heavy dray horses instead of thoroughbreds at Longchamp racetrack
Shop girls dressing in the morning. Four shop girls dressing, fixing their hair in front of mirror, adjusting their stockings, playing with a cat. These little workers show such ingenious coquetry
Millinery shop workers. Women in lowcut muslin dresses trying on hats, holding a hat box, fixing feathers to a headdress and reading a notebook at the counter
Fabric shop workers. Women in muslin dresses, bonnets and shawls embroidering, sewing, cutting cloth and wrapping bolts of fabric
Three graces of the Ballet of **. Elegant ballet dancers in costume (one in turban and shawl, one with tambourine and dress decorated with flowers)
Two May-September couples dancing at a ballTwo May-September couples at a ball. The old and ugly partners have arranged the company of two young, good-looking escorts, who flirt with each other
Coryphees at a ball. Incroyables in jackets with outsize buttons and collars, long cravat, huge bicorn hat, and merveilleuses with decollete dresses and large lace collars
The problem with Capote bonnets: two womens deep-brimmed bonnets collide as they greet each other, while fashionable men watch
Fashionable couples dancing La SauteuseFashionable couples dancing la Sauteuse, a pair dance popular circa 1800. The man grips the woman around the waist, while jumping from foot to foot and spinning her around
Evening party at Coblentz (between rue Taitbout and rue Neuve-Lepelletier, Paris). A group of women and children (including a black woman)
Two incroyables (fops) with cudgels hinder the promenade of two merveilleuses by pinning the tails of their dresses. One looks back coquettishly at the ridiculous dandy
Fashionable dancers performing La Trenis, a country dance section in the popular quadrille created by the French dance master Trenitz
The bored women of Longchamp racetrack. Three fashionable bored women sit among a mountain of chairs as a maid clears them away
Miss Pastel and her motherMiss Pastel followed by her mother. A young beauty art student carries brushes, palette and canvas, while her mother in bonnet, shawl and gloves carries a heavy easel and stool
Three Parisian graces, circa 1800. Three unattractive maids wear the latest Paris fashions. Its certainly true that in fashion a servile herd of imitators abounds
Merveilleuses playing the game of blind mans buff. A blindfolded woman runs in a garden as one woman strokes her hand and another grabs her muslin dress
Merveilleuses playing the four corners game of tagThe four corners game of tag. Five merveilleuses in muslin dresses play the game of four corners, a version of tag. Illustration by Dominique Bosio
Choosing the jockey: Young woman in form-revealing dress and short martyr hairstyle seated on chaise longue pointing to a young man with a dog, while two older men and a black servant boy watch
Merveilleuses playing the game of La Main ChaudeLa main chaude or Paumele. Merveilleuses in flimsy muslin dresses play the game of hot hands. One girl buries her head in anothers lap, and has to guess which friend slaps her arm
Girls skipping in a park, early 19th centuryGirls playing the skipping game of Walking under the Arch, boy playing hoop, while another girl watches. Scene in a Paris park
A woman writes a letter on a somno in a messyA woman writes a letter on a somno (night table containing a chamberpot) with her feet on a pillow, while her dog chews a lace collar and a cat sleeps on her ballgown
Woman on a chaise longue looking at a new hatWoman on a chaise longue in fringed shawl admiring a new hat held by her milliner, while a maid holds a bottle of perfume. The best remedy, or the Longchamp hat
French and English women in similar fashionsMutual borrowing of fashions between French and English women, early 19th century. Both wear identical style bonnets, frilled dresses, shawls and spencer jackets
Miss Busk and Mr Corset at a dance party. Fashionable couple in tight corsets dancing at a ball. To appear slim, there are young men today who wear corsets like the women
The creole game or flying ring game, early 19thc centuryFashionable people playing the flying ring game or the creole game. When the Parisians adopted the game, it had to be embellished: so the ring was covered with ribbon, then rosettes, then bells
Merveilleuses playing badminton in a gardenBadminton. Merveilleuse in flimsy dresses play a game of badminton in a garden. Several have their hair in the fashionable short cut known as the martyr or victime
Three girls in mid-calf length dresses and pantalons dancing with a shawl. Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
Woman in a shop choosing a new dress, early 19th centuryWoman in a shop trying to decide which dress matches her new hat. A shopgirl holds a dress trimmed with flowers, and another with gauze frill
The roller coaster at Belleville, 1812The roller coaster at Belleville with its five cars riding a distance of 600 feet in 9 or 10 seconds. A fashionable woman in plumed bonnet, shawl and parasol watches from the terrace
A woman is pampered by her staffA woman is pampered by her seamstress, her clothes seller, her hairdresser and two chambermaids. As Montesquieu said, For one man to live deliciously, one hundred others must work tirelessly
Rollercoaster in the Jardin Baujon, early 19th century. Fashionable society enjoying the aerial walks, with cars pulled up the central ramp before riding fast chutes to left and right
Munito the wonder dog performing card tricks, 1815Munito the wonder dog performing card tricks for a fashionable audience, 1815. Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
Ladies and gentlemen share coffee and rollsLe Dejeuner. Gentlemen in coat tails and breeches and ladies in veils and dresses share a breakfast of coffee and bread. Great familiarity reigns in the morning, one has no time to become ceremonial
Merveilleuses and incroyables dancing the waltz, a newly popular dance imported from Germany. Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
The rollercoaster at Roule, Paris, early 19th centuryA gentleman helps a woman step down from a car after a descent down the rollercoaster at Roule (Place de Ternes). Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
Roller coaster at the Barriere du Roule, ParisRoller coaster at the Barriere du Roule (Place de Ternes, Paris). Fashionable women in bonnets and shawls riding cars down the rollercoaster
Street entertainer balancing on his head on a table. Accompanied by a fiddler and a young boy dancing a jig. Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
Street entertainer performing on a horn and violin. After removing his huge glasses from his nose, the old geezer blows on his horn (sarbacane) and plays the violin, grimacing all the time
Bride examining the contents of her marriage basket. Her bridesmaids show her lace, jewelry, diaments and finery. Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
Jacques de Falaise, street entertainer who ate anything. He is shown eating a live mouse, holding a snake, while an assistant receives a dagger and rose from the audience
Street performer drumming with a violinistDrummer performing tricks with drumsticks while beating a drum, accompanied by a violinist. Handcoloured engraving from Pierre de la Mesangeres Le Bon Genre, Paris, 1817
Family of street entertainers performing in Paris, 1815Woman balancing on a candlestick on a table, while a child walks on its hands. Later, Madame Herculanus fixes two anchors in curling papers to her hair