Anecdote n°3

In Versailles, the man in charge of replacing the candles or lighting the lamps climbed a “small double-ladder used especially for candelabras”. However in 1786, since he was lazy, he only used a little ladder for girandoles (candelabras with branches) “the footstool wasn’t high enough so he put weight on the girandoles and often broke their branches”. He changed his habits after being summoned by the king’s lampmaker and Royal Furniture steward, Thierry de Ville d’Avray, who must have convinced him to change his method since there were no more complaints. Photo Dimitri Smilenko