Omaha daily bee., 1909-06-27
PARIS DEAD MILLIONAIRE
Ways Of the Late M. Chauchard Of
the Louvre.
SOME OF HIS ECCENTRICITIES
Rise from Clerk at 30 a Week to One
of the Ricbes Men In France
HLs Famous PictureS-TrIcks
of Art Dealers.
SOME OF HIS ECCENTRICITIEs

PARIS, June 12.-Alfred Chauchard, the
founder OF the great Paris department store
known as the Magasins du Louvre, who
has just died at the age of IS, was the son
Of a country gardener. His business career
began when he went to work in a little shop
at s. a month. He slept under the counter
and had to sweep the floor in the morning.
In those days his breakfast was 8 cents
worth of fried potatoes and his evening
meal not much better.
In 1855 he had risen to be head clerk Of
the establishment with a salary Of S24O a
year. Then he left his place and taking
as a partner Auguste Heriot, whom he had
met at a BARRIERS shop, he founded what
grew into the great department store which
made its originators two OF the richest men
in France.
When their first difficulties in obtaining
a lease OF the site they wanted and the
capital they lacked were overcome, success
followed rapidly. Thirty years later Chau-
chard retired from active work a multi
millionaire. His partner, Heriot, attended
to the financial side OF the undertaking,
while Chauchard was the salesman.
1t was Chauehard who first had the idea
OF giving toy balloons to the children OF
his customers and who first ran a free
NAiSi AAAA u lH blNaAtoA 5hNN6Sb was
his institution OF a bargain day, when rem
nants were sold at prices that brought all
the women of Paris to his counters. This
was a new thing, and great was the sur
prise OF his employees when they first re-
ceived orders TO cut up into lengths of five
or six yards thousands of pieces of I'M
touched silk just received from the factory.
He was a perfect salesman, and endowed
with a splendid memory, he would often
remind a customer of some purchase he
had made ten or twenty years before, men
tioning the particulars, the form, color and
price. Even after he had left business II
he could persuade a friend TO go to the
Louvre for a bottle Of cologne or a pair OF
gloves he was delighted, and seldom failed
to call at the store to see II his friend had
made the promised purchase.
After retiring in 1885 from active work
he devoted himself to collecting works of
art and to philanthropy. His benefactions,
amounting to something like S454,OOO. en-
tailed an amount of publicity, which It
may be said was far from displeasing
to him.
Many anecdotes are told OF his art col
~lections and the methods taken OF inducing
him to acquire certain works, a favorite
device being to persuade him that million
aire Americans were preparing TO buy
them and that France ought to retain
them at any cost.
But II he was sometimes taken in he
bought many works OF ~undoubted value,
and a sale of his collection would show
a good return on the money he invested
He possessed twenty-five landscapes by
Corot, which cost him some $50, 900. OF
these the Passage du que" cost ", 200 and
the "ClairieTe," a View OF Array" and
the 'Danse des Nymphes" $40, 600 each.
He spent $1,000 for pictures by Daub-
igny, $4,000 for pictures by Decamps. SIS,
900 for two BY Delaeroix n $4,000 for