History Café Procope

at café procope: @ rear, left right: condorcet, la harpe, voltaire (with arm raised) , diderot.

it unexampled mix of habitués surprised visitors, though no 1 remarked on absence of women. louis, chevalier de mailly, in les entretiens des caffés, 1702, remarked:

the cafés agreeable places, , ones 1 finds sorts of people of different characters. there 1 sees fine young gentlemen, agreeably enjoying themselves; there 1 sees savants come leave aside laborious spirit of study; there 1 sees others gravity , plumpness stand in merit. those, in raised voice, impose silence on deftest wit, , rouse praise blamed, , blame worthy of praise. how entertaining of spirit see originals setting arbiters of taste , deciding imperious tone on depth!

throughout 18th century, brasserie procope meeting place of intellectual establishment, , of nouvellistes of scandal-gossip trade, remarks @ procope repeated in police reports. not encyclopédistes drank forty cups of coffee day voltaire, mixed chocolate, met @ procope, did benjamin franklin, john paul jones , thomas jefferson.

le procope in 18th-century style

alain-rené lesage described hubbub @ procope in la valise trouvée (1772): there ebb , flow of conditions of men, nobles , cooks, wits , sots, pell mell, chattering in full chorus heart s content. indicating increasingly democratic mix. writing few years after death of voltaire, louis-sébastien mercier noted:

all works of paris-born writer seem have been made capital. foremost in mind when wrote. while composing, looking towards french academy, public of comédie française, café procope, , circle of young musketeers. hardly ever had else in sight.

during revolution, phrygian cap, symbol of liberty, first displayed @ procope; cordeliers, robespierre, danton , marat used cafe meeting place. after restoration, famous customer alexander von humboldt, lunched here during 1820s every day 11am noon. procope retained literary cachet: alfred de musset, george sand, gustave planche, philosopher pierre leroux, m. coquille, editor of le monde, anatole france, mikael printz regulars. under second empire, august jean-marie vermorel of le reforme or léon gambetta expound plans social reform.

in 1860s conférence molé held meetings @ café procope. léon gambetta, many other french orators, learned art of public speaking @ molé. other active members during period included ernest picard, clément laurier , léon renault.

the café procope refurbished in 1988 1989 in 18th-century style. received pompeian red walls, crystal chandeliers, 18th century oval portraits of famous people have been patrons, , tinkly piano. waiters dressed in quasi-revolutionary uniforms.