Viridescent

Link to photographer here (Darcy Scanlin)

Mandibles - A Natural History Collection

The mandible is the lower jaw of a vertebrate animal. This is perfectly apt since my mandible dropped from sheer wonderment the minute I crossed the threshold of this jam-packed creature emporium, and didn't quite recover until I was several blocks away. I really wanted to shout MANDIBLES from every Cape rooftop. Mandibles can be found up a rickety staircase in the Woodstock Foundry in Cape Town. Julia Jaki is the curator, Philipp Schulz, the taxidermist. Together, the Garden of Earthly Delights abounds. Our very own Deyrolle in Africa. In this jewel of a shop, those of a covetous nature like myself, really can be the proud owner of a simple egg of extreme fragility, the beak of a Bare-Eyed Cockatoo or (in my case) the skull of a baby Nile Crocodile...

Worth noting is the fact that all the birds, monkeys and small mammals come from zoos and bird parks - having died of natural causes - while the skulls, horns and skull-mounts of the larger Ungulata are by-products of South Africa's sustainable game farming industry.

All photographs by Philippa Berrington-Blew.

Waiting Room

Via here

L’Hotel Des Tailles

Utter sublimity. Photographed by Nicolas Buisson...

Via here

La Maison Fassier

A certain image of La Maison Fassier had been a favorite of mine and, in fact, was one I pinned ages ago. Then, when I stumbled upon a full compliment of photographs of this great room, I couldn't help but reblog. From a nineteenth century French girl's boarding school in Rémalard to a home and antique store today, Alain and Claude Fassier can be proud of the transformation...

Via Trouvais

An Unexpected Trip

My mother is the strongest person I know. She was rushed into the operating theatre just over two weeks ago after learning that she has cancer. I flew to Johannesburg to help with her convalescence, and she is recovering remarkably well. I knew she was feeling better when she said: I need an elixir, preferably in the form of an antique shop. I happily obliged (and snapped these pics in the treasure mine we jokingly refer to as the gift-that-keeps-on-giving - JAB Louw in Melville)...

44 Stanley

Mum and Henry's home...

Socialist Chic

How is this for off-the-charts cool? Rick Owens' Parisian apartment was once the headquarters of the Parti Socialiste and in particular the office of President François Mitterrand. Notwithstanding the slightly austere nature of the rest of the apartment, this room (photographed below) is a perfect example of contemporary style that retains the elaborate detail in the embellished walls and cornice. And, of course, what's not to love about the cheeky taxidermy monkey thrown in as an amuse-bouche...

See more of the apartment here. Photography by François Halard

Alex MacArthur (forever)

See other posts devoted to Alex MacArthur here...

 Via here

Cabinets of Wonder

I came across these beautiful images (via Itswhatiminto) during a much needed blog blitz. From a sumptuous (scrumptious) new book aptly named Cabinets of Wonder, written by Christine Davenne and photographed by Christine Fleurent. Monica Kempsurov wrote this about the book:

That whole taxidermy thing hit hard — stuffed deer heads suddenly becoming the de facto symbol for a style movement dedicated to the return to nature, the embracing of all things old-fashioned, and in many cases, the compulsion to dress like a bearded woodsman... (the book) is a full-color romp through the world of natural oddities, memento mori, and other dark artifacts...

Via here and here

Quagga

Simply calling Quagga a bookshop is trivialising its notability. I don't think there are sufficient adjectives in the thesaurus to adequately describe its worth. I have waxed on previously here. Put it this way, all I would need is a decent bed, and I could move in quite happily...

Photos by moi (Quagga: 86 Main Road, Kalk Bay, 7975 South Africa)