Halfway down rue de Beaune in the 7th arrondissement, there’s a small shop that sells walking sticks.
It would be very easy to walk past without noticing, but inside is a treasure trove of curiosities, a deep dive into French history, and a jaw-dropping selection of walking sticks from centuries gone by.
But first: What you need to know about canes is that there are essentially two types; The decorative kind (where the handle has a carving or a jewel) and the gadget kind (where the handle opens to reveal anything from a revolver to a musical instrument). Look, the one below turned into a violin!
The Galerie Jantzen has hundreds of both types of walking sticks and we got to see many of them. The shop owner, Chloe Jantzen, joined us on The Earful Tower podcast to talk about her shop, its history, and her magnificent collection of 1,200 walking sticks.
The Earful Tower podcast episode
You can listen here (or wherever you get podcasts), and you can scroll down for lots of pictures while you’re listening.
Practical details about the shop
You can find Galerie Jantzen at 18 rue de Beaune in the 7th arrondissement. You can the website here, and follow on Instagram here.
We took hundreds of photos and videos, and if you want to see more of these canes, check out our own Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube channel this week.
The gadget walking sticks
Let’s take a look at just a few of the gadget walking sticks. Below you’ll see the violin again, but also swords, blow darts, weighing scales, hidden vials for absinthe, a gun, a flashlight, and a periscope.
The decorative canes
Many of the canes were spectacularly decorative. It’s hard to summarize, maybe even impossible, but here are some pictures including animal heads, mermaids, gargoyles, jewels, and more.
Well that’s it! If you enjoy this kind of content, become a member of The Earful Tower on Patreon here to unlock loads of bonuses. Or get out PDF guide to Paris below (free for members).
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All photos: Augusta Sagnelli
Loved the Walking Stick/Cane story. This is the place to visit on our next trip to Paris! And the owner sounds delightful, too… hope she enjoys all the other Earful Tower podcast listeners who are certain visit soon! We plan to stop by at the end of March… cannot wait! Thanks for the great online tour, Oliver… and the photography is beautiful, too!
I first met Chloe’s mother in 1990….. I accidentally walked into the show near the Louvre… and was amazed to find this ‘Treasure Trove`’ of Walking Sticks… I had been working for one of the Royal Families in the Middle East looking after Racing Camels….
Having looked around the shop for a while….at the 100’s and 100’s of canes I started to talk to Laurenze….and eventually asked her…do you have one with a camel on the top??
She thought for a moment …and said …wait a moment and disappeared out the back of the shop….she returned with the most amazing walking stick…stacked leather rings over a steel rod…. With a magnificent silver camels head on the top…. But in fact a weapon …with a lot of weight and flexibility to impail someone with the silver head… that was the start of my “collecting of canes”
But Laurenze was truly one of the most memorable people I ever met… whenever I was in Paris…I was in her shop…when I arrived she would pour Champagne…a tell me stories….. Clients….Walking sticks etc etc….
I have not been in Paris for about 5-6 years …. Chloe had informed me her mother had passed away …and then we got Corona….but I arrived today …looking forward to get to the shop again …and googling I discovered your Pod Cast….
So it was a wonderful reminder of my love affair with Paris and Laurence Chloe and their Walking Sticks