On the trail of Edward VII’s sex chair for threesomes
Edward VII’s seat of love is still in active use. Sean Thomas is given a lesson in oral history
I am loitering in a sex museum in Prague. Amidst the chastity belts and pre-war dildos stands this... thing. It looks like an instrument of medieval torture; or a commode for an incontinent Chinese warlord.
Yet it turns out to be something way more bizarre than this - what I am ogling is the fauteuil d'amour, the famous "armchair of love". It's a chair specifically designed by a top French furniture-maker, so an English King could have sex with two or more prostitutes. Looking at the surreal object, it's hard to work out how.
The king was Edward VII: he used the chair when he visited the opulent brothel of Le Chabanais, one of the great bordellos of fin de siecle Paris. Yet the chair in Prague turns out to be a replica. Could the real one still exist?
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
To find out I take the Eurostar to Paris, and trek to Le Chabanais in the 2nd arrondissement. In its heyday, the sober facade of this inner-city townhouse hid a riotously ornate interior - a world of mirrors and velvet, where beautiful trollops would stand bare-breasted on pedestals, for the delectation of the wealthy punter.
All this was swept away in 1946, when Le Chabanais, and the other "tolerated houses", were abolished in a fit of post-war puritanism. The madams, the girls and their clients were scattered. But what happened to the famous fixtures; what happened to the chair?
In the modernist towers of the Bibliotheque Nationale I consult the records. They tell me that the armchair of love miraculously survived La Fermeture [the closing], and was bought at auction in 1946 by an industrialist. The chair was then resold at Drouot, another Parisian auction house.
A metro ride takes me there, but when I ask the girl at reception about "the English king's oral sex chair" (try saying that in French), she has a fit of giggles. Finally she confirms that the chair went under the hammer for a third time.
"Herve Poulain," she tells me, "auctioned the armchair in 1996." Eventually I track down M Poulain in his office. After some cajoling, he calls "a certain client". Then he turns, and smiles: Oui, the chair survives.
Huzzah! I have one more question. Is the chair still... used?
"Naturellement."
I haven't the guts to ask how.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - November 10, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - civic duty, uncertain waters, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 ladylike cartoons about women's role in the election
Cartoons Artists take on the political gender gap, Lady Liberty, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The right to die: what can we learn from other countries?
The Explainer A look at the world's assisted dying laws as MPs debate Kim Leadbeater's proposed bill
By The Week Published
-
Home Office worker accused of spiking mistress’s drink with abortion drug
Speed Read Darren Burke had failed to convince his girlfriend to terminate pregnancy
By The Week Staff Published
-
In hock to Moscow: exploring Germany’s woeful energy policy
Speed Read Don’t expect Berlin to wean itself off Russian gas any time soon
By The Week Staff Published
-
Were Covid restrictions dropped too soon?
Speed Read ‘Living with Covid’ is already proving problematic – just look at the travel chaos this week
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Inclusive Britain: a new strategy for tackling racism in the UK
Speed Read Government has revealed action plan setting out 74 steps that ministers will take
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sandy Hook families vs. Remington: a small victory over the gunmakers
Speed Read Last week the families settled a lawsuit for $73m against the manufacturer
By The Week Staff Published
-
Farmers vs. walkers: the battle over ‘Britain’s green and pleasant land’
Speed Read Updated Countryside Code tells farmers: ‘be nice, say hello, share the space’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Motherhood: why are we putting it off?
Speed Read Stats show around 50% of women in England and Wales now don’t have children by 30
By The Week Staff Published
-
Anti-Semitism in America: a case of double standards?
Speed Read Officials were strikingly reluctant to link Texas synagogue attack to anti-Semitism
By The Week Staff Published