Salon · c. 1887-1888
Le Grand Véfour, Palais-Royal
Address · 17, rue de Beaujolais, 75001 Paris
Metro · Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre (1, 7) / Pyramides (7, 14)
Today · In operation. Restaurant still in business; its historic dining room is a listed monument.
The story
Since the end of the 18th century, Le Grand Véfour has occupied part of the galleries of the Palais-Royal. First a café, then a luxury restaurant, it has seen politicians, writers and artists come through, from Bonaparte to Victor Hugo. Its neoclassical decor, with its painted canvases under glass, has been preserved and listed as a historic monument. In the 1880s it remained a prestigious venue where private rooms could be hired for dinners, banquets or evenings organized by journals.
Churton relates that at the time when Papus attended Félix-Krishna Gaboriau's Isis theosophical lodge, before founding his own Hermès lodge, the journal Le Lotus organized an evening in a room at the Véfour. Victor-Émile Michelet, who had helped organize it, was disappointed by Gérard Encausse's first attempt at public speaking, which he found hesitant. Some time later, however, he observed that Papus knew how to hold an audience, at the cost of a certain simplification. He would become a very active lecturer.
The restaurant is still in business and its facade can be seen from the garden and the arcades of the Palais-Royal. The place is a reminder that Parisian theosophy in the 1880s also met in fashionable settings, far from the back rooms of bookshops. The gardens and neighboring galleries are open to all, and you can walk along the arcades to rue de Beaujolais. At the time the palace still housed many cafés, restaurants and clubs.
To be checked · Churton places the evening at 8, rue de Montpensier; the Grand Véfour's address is 17, rue de Beaujolais, under the arcades of the Palais-Royal. Exact date not given in the book.