3-011-849 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Paris Demolitions - the Hôtel des Haricots, or prison of the National Guard of Paris, 1864. Engraving from a sketch by M. Felix Thorigny. View of '...the Hôtel des Haricots, as the prison is facetiously called by the members of the Garde themselves, by reason of the solemn item that figures in the tariff of condiments affixed to the wall of each cell - "Haricots blancs à la maitre d'hotel, 50 centimes."...The term of imprisonment extends from twelve hours to eight days...the prison being open at certain hours every day for the reception of "convicted visitors." The approaching extension of the station of the Orleans Railway will necessitate the demolition of the Hôtel des Haricots, and the consequent destruction of a large collection of drawings, paintings, and verses, drawn, painted, and inscribed on the walls of several of the cells, and signed by such names as Decamps, Gavarni, Gustave Doré, Daumier, Janet, Bertall, Théophile Gauthier, Henry Murger, Arsène Houssaye, Alfred de Musset, and a host of other celebrities who, even in their hours of punishment, contributed something towards the entertainment and instruction of future occupants'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.