The Strangest Shop in All of Paris

July 1, 2007 2:58 PM

Deyrolle: The Strangest Shop in All of Paris. "Paris has many unusual shops, but one of the most unusual has to be Deyrolle."
posted by jonson (11 comments total)

Many more photos on Flickr (sorted by "interestingness")
posted by jonson at 2:59 PM on July 1, 2007

Wow, cool. I was wondering how these people made money, but it looks like people buy or rent such things
posted by Flashman at 3:15 PM on July 1, 2007

It's sadly been renovated recently and has lost a great deal of it's charm. The old parquet floor that used to be like walking on a trampoline has been repaired and there are now glass display cases installed in the floor, amongst other things. A wad of cash appears to have been spent and it's almost like a modern museum, which is very sad. The photos in the first link predate the makeover.
posted by fire&wings at 3:18 PM on July 1, 2007 [1 favorite]

This looks like the place to find the mounted cat's head I've been looking for since I saw "Life is Sweet".
posted by Kraftmatic Adjustable Cheese at 3:58 PM on July 1, 2007

it has indeed been renovated after it was sold a few years ago -- this story is from the pre-makevoer days
posted by matteo at 4:07 PM on July 1, 2007

A wad of cash appears to have been spent and it's almost like a modern museum, which is very sad

ugh sounds quite like when the conservatoire des arts et métiers was renovated.
posted by dorian at 6:06 PM on July 1, 2007

It's been a few years since I've been there, but the photos of Deyrolle remind me a bit of Maxilla & Mandible in New York City. If I recall correctly, M&M had a sort of Tim Burtonesque Victorian vibe to it. I don't have any other taxidermy shops to compare it to, but I don't imagine many of them to be as fascinating.
posted by Slack-a-gogo at 6:37 PM on July 1, 2007

WANT.
posted by palmcorder_yajna at 7:40 PM on July 1, 2007

Reminded me of Maxilla & Mandible as well: always used to enjoy browsing in that shop back when I lived in NYC, though all too often I couldn't afford the stuff I wanted there.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 10:52 PM on July 1, 2007

used to buy my bugs (& minerals) there. thx for the memories...
posted by progosk at 11:45 PM on July 1, 2007

Hmm. This reminds me that I have a boar skeleton in my office that really needs to be fixed (the hips are broken). I've been planning to take it to this shop for years but just moving it is such a hassle...
posted by elgilito at 4:21 AM on July 2, 2007