Browse Items (27 total)

The Cercle des Mirlitons was a society or club of fencers, 125 strong, composed primarily of artists, the most famous being Charles Auguste Émile Durand.  The name "Mirlitons" could be in reference to the eunuch flute, a French woodwind instrument…

Salle d'Armes Cain was founded by Gatechair, veteran of the First Empire and former president of l'Academie d'Armes. The salle was located on the passageway to the Opéra Le Peletier, site of Felice Orsini's January 14, 1858 assassination attempt of…

Frontispiece to "A Travers les Salles d'Armes" depicting the home of fencing master Arsène Vigeant. Vigeant was an avid collector of fencing art and published a catalog of his collection in 1892 titled "Ma Collection d'Escrime".

Plate depicting the private home fencing salle of Monsieur Laroze.

Plate depicting the fencing room, or salle d'armes, of Monsieur Edmond Blanc. The accompanying text, translated from the original French, describes the room: "One of the most artistic fencing rooms is the one that Mr. Edmond Blanc had installed on…

Louis Mérignac, born 1846, was the eldest son of Maître d'Armes François Mérignac. Louis was not always a fencer, however. He first tried sculpting, though inevitably his father all but obliged Louis to put foil in hand. Despite his initial apathy to…

Illustration preceding the almanac entry "Duel en Salle d'Armes" in the chapter "Mai" depicting Louis Ringal, seated and in uniform awaiting his lesson with Maitre Vigeant, with Octave de Bancas entering the salle.