Session 1 - Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions, LLC

EUROPE AND COLONIES: France239 France, 1870-71, Siege of Paris, Ga zette des Ab sents, com plete set of four il lus trated sup ple ments onpelure pa per in clud ing the map of Paris in color and the in fa mous “Slaugh ter of the El e phant in the Gar den of Ac cli -ma ti za tion” (see be low). A lovely, unmailed set of these rare orig i nal etch ings, fresh; few very mi nor tone spots,mostly in blank mar gin, oth er wise Very Fine. Yvert €2,760 ($3,620). Maury €2,100 ($2,750).Estimate $1,000 - 1,500During the siege, Parisians were reduced to eating cats, dogs, and rats. However, the bourgeoisie, who still dinedat the deluxe restaurants, demanded much higher fare. As food reserves dwindled, these restaurants, includingVoisin, a restaurant run by renowned chef Alexandre-Étienne Choron, eyed the animals kept at the local zoos.For the midnight Christmas meal of 1870, Choron proposed a menu principally composed of the best parts of theanimals kept in the Garden of Acclimatization, an amusement park for children opened in 1860 in the Bois duBoulogne. His dishes included elephant consommé, roasted camel, kangaroo stew, bear shanks roasted inpepper sauce and wolf in deer sauce. A week after the elephant from the Garden of Acclimatization graced theChristmas table at Voisin, the two elephants (Castor and Pollux) from the Paris Zoological Garden wereconsumed at the New Year's Eve meal.240 France, 1870-71, Siege of Paris: Boule de Mou lins, folded let ter to Paris en dorsed “Paris par Mou lins(Allier)”, post marked (and date lined) Potrieux, 31 Dec; post age (ap par ently a strip of five 20c stamps) has beenwashed off, as has the post age on a ma jor ity of these let ters, Very Fine. Estimate $250 - 350As an alternative to the pigeon post, the “Boules de Moulins” were zinc spheres, 20cm (about 8") in diameter,which were to be filled with mail and floated down the Seine into Paris. The charge for this service was 1fr,representing 20c postage and 80c to be paid by postal authorities to creators of the system, 40c upon departureand 40c upon arrival. The system was a resounding failure. Between January 4-28, 1871, more than 40, 000letters were sent by this method—none made it to Paris during the siege. They were found later, one “bottle”being recovered as recently as 1988.Daniel F. Kelleher Auctions LLC www.kelleherauctions.com Sale 638 - Aug. 19, 2013 53