Antique Au Bon Marché Paris Department Store Ashtray

Found at market in Paris, we were thrilled to spy this colorful ashtray from Au Bon Marché, part of the mid 19th-century emergence of the department store. Founded in 1838 as a novelty shop by brothers Paul and Justin Videau to sell lace, ribbons, linens, buttons, umbrellas and other goods Au Bon Marché grew to become one of the first modern department stores.

Through innovations we now regard as standard practice, Au Bon Marché made its mark on the retail trade through the implementation of many experimental strategies including fixed prices where haggling had been the norm, guarantees that allowed exchanges and refunds, a reading room where husbands could wait while their wives shopped, newspaper advertising, amusements for children and mail order catalogues. By 1869 a new location envisioned as "a new kind of store that would thrill all the senses” in the 7e arrondissement at 24 rue de Sèvres on Paris's Left Bank was commissioned to accommodate the expanding business. The inspiration for Emile Zola's Au Bonheur des Dames, a sweeping novel set against the inner workings of a grand magasin, the new setting provided a luxurious and elegant shopping experience which continued to flourish. 

In 1922 as design and decorative arts reached a crescendo in France, the Pomone Atelier D'Art - an interior design department, was established following the trend of other Parisian department stores, with the legendary Paul Follot as its first director. This Antique Au Bon Marché Ashtray made by the French studio pottery of Longwy for L'atelier Pomone dates from the Follot era. With a sweetly colored cornucopia depicted in an early Art Deco style along with the slogan Loyauté fait ma force (Loyalty is My Strength), this Antique Au Bon Marché Ashtray promotes Au Bon Marché / Paris on the upper edge with additional locales listed around the perimeter.

Known today as Le Bon Marché, the fashionable department store with its rich history remains a must-see destination for shoppers from across the globe, while this charming tray remains a sweet relic from one of the most celebrated stores in Paris.

Strictly one-of-a-kind and subject to prior sale. In good vintage condition with signs of age including a small area with paint loss on the rim as seen in the alternate images. Measures 5"D in diameter x .6725"H.