Félix Potin, La Rochelle

A few metres from the Mercerie along the Rue des merciers is a shop many people in France would have been familiar with: Félix Potin. The origins of this chain of food stores go back to 1844, when Félix Potin, then aged 24, opened his first outlet in Paris. At a time when it was relatively common for grocers to add flour to sugar or chicory to coffee, or to sell sugar loaves that never reached the right weight, Félix Potin rapidly became well-known for selling "the right weight at the right price." Indeed from the very start, this was one of the four principles of his business, the others being good quality products, lower profit margins, and fixed prices on display. In order to attract customers, some basic goods were sold at a loss but that was covered by higher margins on some sweets or luxury products like cocoa. Within a few years Potin opened a few outlets across Paris. Then in 1860, at the corner of Boulevard de Sébastopol and Rue Réaumur, he inaugurated his flagship store: behind its 22-metre long display windows, customers could find on two floors all the foodstuffs they could imagine and even more. One year later Félix Potin inaugurated his first factory in La Villette and became the first grocer to manufacture his own products bearing his own label. Within one year twenty-one tons of sugar were crushed, seven tons of cocoa were processed, and tons of peas were automatically shelled at La Villette. All these foodstuffs were packed and labelled "Félix Potin." In a drive to cut down on intermediaries and keep prices down Potin purchased orchards in the south of France, vineyards in Champagne, and even extended his reach beyond the Mediterranean Sea. In Tunisia he acquired what would become Potinville, an estate of 3,000 hectares near Tunis, one fifth of which was planted with vine. Expansion continued but in 1870 the Second Empire collapsed and the Prussian army surrounded Paris. Without supplies the population of the French capital faced starvation. Dogs, rats, anything that could be eaten ended in cooking pots. That's when Potin bought for 27,000 francs Castor, one of the two elephants of the Jardin d'acclimatation and sold the meat in his stores. Félix Potin died one year later, leaving a fortune of 6 million francs, two large stores and several small outlets.
Far from resting on their laurels, the heirs of Potin continued to develop the family business: new factories were opened, the flagship stores of the Boulveard Sébastopol and Boulevard Malsherbes were rebuilt, home deliveries were introduced, and new stores bearing the name Félix Potin opened throughout France. These were franchises granted to well-noted office workers who married a cashier, and often came with a small flat above the shop. In 1904 a new, luxurious store, ten-floor high, opened Rue de Rennes in Paris. By the late 1920s, the company Félix Potin owned 70 subsidiaries, ten factories, and controlled hundreds of shops.
However by the 1920s the arrival of new competitors selling foodstuffs at even lower prices reduced the company's profits. Additionally in 1930 the family was forced to sell a villa in Bagatelle for 28 millions after the shady actions of one of the directors had left a huge hole in the accounts. Following the death of Jean Potin just after the Second World War, his wife inherited the company but she lacked the business sense of her predecessors. Running it according to her mood, Félix Potin declined rapidly. In 1958 the company and its 1,200 shops were bought for 5 millions by André Mentzelopoulos, who split the company in two: trade and real estate. Even though over the following decaces Félix Potin acquired several small competitors, it faced growing competition from supermarkets. In 1996 the company was liquidated.

I haven't found any specific information about the Félix Potin store in La Rochelle. Before Félix Potin moved in, the building housed another grocery store, owned by E. Garnier.

F é l i x P o t i n

Félix Potin E. Garnier

n i t o P x i l é F

It is rather unusual to have a name written sideways on both sides of the windows.
Below are some details of the façade.

Félix PotinThere is a real palimpsest where 'Potin' was written, with a total of three different layers. However, apart from a few letters here and there, all I managed to decipher is:... Argent
...ur V...illé
E. Garnier
Actually these were not the only ghost signs for Félix Potin and E. Garnier in La Rochelle. Indeed the building had two entrances, one, above, on Rue des merciers and another one on Rue Saint-Yon, where the name and nature of these two businesses were clearly indicated too.

Félix Potin

Produits alimentaires
Produits Félix Potin

E. Garnier
Below are some details of the ghost signs on this second façade.

Félix Potin
Produits alimentaires
Produits Félix Potin
Produits alimentaires
Produits Félix Potin

E. Garnier
It seems 'E. Garnier' was written twice.

Location: Rue des merciers, and Rue Saint-Yon, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 18/08/2011

Mercerie, La Rochelle

What could be more normal than a ghost sign for a shop that specialised in haberdashery in Haberdashers' Street?

Mercerie
[Haberdasher's]
A very simple sign written in a dark red tone often used in the late 19th century.


This business competed directly with the one of E. Marthe a couple of hundred meters away.

Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Picture taken on: 18/08/2011

R.I.P. Ingersoll, Aldwych

Ever since I first noticed it, I always have a look at the Ingersoll ghost sign when I make my way from the City Lit to the bus stops on Aldwych. That was the case last Thursday, when I even wondered if the man smoking by the door had ever paid any attention to what was written just above him. Little did I know then that it would be the last time I would see it. Earlier today I noticed the ground and first floors have been completely repainted and in the process the ghost sign disappeared, certainly for good.
For those who missed it, here is a picture again, slightly larger this time. For more information about the Ingersoll Watch Company, go to the original post.

Ingersoll Watch Co Ltd
Goods Entrance
4 Kean Street
Location: Kean Street / Picture taken on: 08/10/2008

Au chic parisien, La Rochelle

Au chic parisien: it's all in the name! Just when I was taking my pictures, a man stopped to tell me his mother used to come here to buy her lingerie and clothes. Indeed for decades this shop supplied the wealthy inhabitants of La Rochelle, and especially the ladies, with all the latest and best in fashion.

Au
Chic	parisien

This ghost sign was written twice. The original dark letters were replaced by much more visible red ones with an ocre shadow.


This ghost sign is slowly disappearing as the paint cracks more and more.


Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 18/08/2011

Bussonière, La Rochelle

Since the old harbour and the bassins of the Marans to La Rochelle canal are not too far from the Rue des merciers, it is not that surprising to find among its shops one that specialized in cordages. Bussonnière also sold strings, which other shopkeepers in the street might have purchased in order to wrap their parcels.

Bussonnière
Cordages Ficelles [Cordages Strings]
Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Picture taken on: 18/08/2011

Au bon accueil, La Rochelle

'Au bon accueil' (literally "At the good welcome") is a name usually associated throughout France with restaurants or hotels but in La Rochelle it seems to have been chosen by a clothes shop for men and children. Unless, of course, the two parts of this ghost sign referred to two different businesses.

Au bon accueil
Confection pour hommes et enfants [Clothing for Men and Children]
Note that 'Au' was written vertically at a slightly higher level. Doing so left the whole space under the windows for 'Bon accueil' but when the sign was still colourful, it might have looked a little bit imbalanced. With regards to the second part of this sign, the writer made good use of the arch.

Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Picture taken on: 18/08/2011

Chaussures Richard, La Rochelle

Rue des merciers, or Haberdashers' Street, is one of the most typical streets of La Rochelle: timber-framed medieval houses, with their wooden parts protected by slate, and Renaissance buildings, with elaborate gargoyles, alternate with the more sober façades of houses built in the 17th and 18th centuries. Originally laid c. 1100 when Guillaume X, Duke of Aquitaine, fortified the city, it was then known simply as the Grande rue. In 1286 a charter granted tax exemptions to the cloth merchants who traded along its course. As a result their numbers increased and the street became rapidly known as Rue des merciers. In the 17th century this was changed to Rue des drapiers, or Drapers' Street, before its two first names were combined in the early 19th century into Grande rue des merciers. A few decades later 'Grande' was dropped from the name but the street remained as popular as ever with the inhabitants of La Rochelle and the surrounding area, who continued to buy their clothes and, increasingly, other goods in its shops.
Walking in a northward direction towards the covered market, it doesn't take long to spot the first ghost sign, or rather ghost signs as there are at least three layers on this façade.

Two signs can be read without much difficulty. The difference in style seems to indicate they advertised two different businesses.

Maison
de
Confiance
------
Chaussures Richard
The sign for the shoe shop Richard was painted twice. For the second version, the sign painter used smaller letters.


A close look at the sign written on the first floor between the two windows reveals something was written before Maison de confiance (Trustworthy Shop) was painted.

The words that can still be deciphered are:
...
F...es
Ancienne maison [Formerly]
...n
Pellereau
I haven't found what business was Pellereau in. Maybe this was one of the fashion shops found along the Rue des merciers?

Location: Rue des merciers, La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime / Pictures taken on: 18/08/2011