Petit Saint Thomas

Overview

A Paris draper's and fashion shop, one of the earliest French magasins de nouveautés: Retronews calls it the first French grand magasin (it opened around 1820), and Aristide Boucicaut, later the owner of Le Bon Marché, was one of its clerks (Retronews, «Un lieu inédit ouvre ses portes à Paris : le Petit Saint-Thomas»; Hérodote, «Petite histoire des grands magasins français»).

Relevance to Marie

Named twice, both times in the context of Paris shopping and always next to Le Bon Marché. On 16 May 1874 she complains that Dina loves boutiques so much: «au Louvre, au Bon Marché, au Petit Saint-Thomas, au Grand Saint-Paul, à la Tour Saint-Jacques, au Nez rose, à la Cheville tournée !!!» (019.0229). On 10 June 1874 she says she would drive away a wife who dragged her through «des Bon Marché et des Petit Saint-Thomas», as Maria Dimitrievna does with Stiopa (020.0201).

References in Diary

• 1874-05-16 (019.0229); 1874-06-10 (020.0201)

Sources

Retronews (https://www.retronews.fr/echo-de-presse/2017/01/15/grands-magasins-et-fievre-consumeriste); Hérodote.net (https://www.herodote.net/Petite_histoire_des_grands_magasins_francais-synthese-1824-425.php).