PARIS — These days, the early 17th-century arches of Place des Vosges, the first planned square in Paris and one of King Henri IV’s pet projects, have been elegantly restored, and the linden trees in the garden neatly pruned. Yet when Maria Pergay opened a store there in 1960 to sell the furniture and silverware she had designed, it looked very different.
Philippe Pons
Maria Pergay’s career spans 55 years.
Maria Pergay and Demisch Danant
Flying Carpet Daybed, designed by Maria Pergay in 1968.
Maria Pergay and Demisch Danant
Chaise Anneaux (Ring Chair), designed by Maria Pergay in 1968.
“There were only four street lamps to light the entire square, and the pavements were so dirty,” she recalled. “Antiquarian book dealers sold books from wooden stalls in the arcades. There were three or four antique shops, and little workshops making jewelery. When I told my friends that I was opening a store on Place des Vosges, they said: ‘But why? No one goes there.’ But I loved this place so much.”
