†
LETTER FROM THE EDITOR
Curio Dispatch Nº 1
Written by Margot Mayer
11 June 2023
Introducing our semi-frequent series in which we interview friends of the shop and share our musings on antiques, collecting, & all things Curio.
Evert Collier, Letter Wrack, c. 1698
Welcome Gentle Reader to the first ever Curio Dispatch!
For quite some time now, I have been finding myself in conversation with people telling them a story about the origins of French faience or why Dutch Roemer glasses have raspbery-like knobs on the stems—they act as a sort of fail safe against slippery hands while drinking—and have been asked why I’m not writing about these things for Curio. I always reply with some excuse about being too busy or how I intend to do so some time soon. In truth, my writing skills are a little rusty and even more so, I was worried no one would be interested in reading what I had to say.
Lately I have been looking to step more away from Instagram and to move Curio into the in-person wold—more on that front coming soon! Social media leaves me feeling claustrophobic, either rushed into sharing my ideas because the algorithm rewards spontaneity or frustrated that a photo of me eating ice cream gets more views than an 18th century ceramic I spent months searching for & then several weeks to clear customs. I am by no means launching a newsletter but I did want to create a space where the broader world of Curio could be shared and ideas long bubbling about in my head could be expressed.
As a small business owner, I wear many hats: curator, photographer, designer, shipper, accountant, etc. but one occupation I have missed the most is that of a writer. To linger over a thought or ask questions that may not normally come up in everyday conversation is a special dispensation only writers are given. So bear with me as I dust off my symbolic typewriter and dive into the first, of hopefully many, Curio Dispatches!
Inspired in part by Pierre Le Tan’s, A Few Collectors, a fantastic book written by the beloved Parisian illustrator about the eccentric cavalcade of collectors whose paths he has crossed & the tales of how their obsessions came to be, our new semi-frequent interview series at its core is about curiosity and the desire to peak behind the curtain. What makes someone a collector? Is it something you are born with or something you become? Is it an addiction or an art?
In our first interview, I sit down with Chloë Cassens—a longtime friend of the shop & one of the first people I ever shared the idea of Curio with—who comes from a long line of collectors, most notably her grandfather, Severin Wunderman, whose collection of works by Jean Cocteau was so prolific that his stipulation upon donating his collection to the city of Menton in France was that they build an entire museum in which to house it. Sadly, in 2018, a decade after he passed away, a terrible storm flooded the museum, known as the Musée Jean Cocteau/Severin Wunderman Collection, damaging large swaths of his collection, which was in many ways the culmination of his life’s work. Since then the museum has remained closed.
Today Chloë is the official representative of the collection and has made it her life’s mission to bring about a renaissance of interest in the intertwined legacies of both Jean Cocteau & her grandfather. I chat with her about Severin’s influence on her relationship to antiques, the nature of collecting, and ask her to share some of her favorite pieces from her personal collection.
Grab yourself a cup of coffee or tea and go immerse yourself in Chloë’s world!
x Margot
