Considered rare and highly sought-after, this carre was designed by Philippe Dumas, grandson of the founder, heir and former CEO of Hermès. Like two of his other designs, the La Comtesse de Segur, showcases his unique unmistakable style which you may recognize from his Les Amazones and Le Cirque Molier.
The La Comtesse de Ségur Hermes carre depicts several vignettes capturing scenes from the beloved children’s stories by the French writer, Sophie Rostopchine, the Countess of Ségur. Born in Saint Petersburg in the late eighteenth century, Sophie’s family left Russia in 1814 and ultimately ended up in Paris.
Even though the Comtesse did not write her first book until the age of fifty-eight, her stories place her as one of the most famous and most beloved writers of French children’s books. She has twenty novels to her name all written between 1857 and 1869 for her nineteen grandchildren. Her books were published as a collection La Bibliothèque rose illustrée, a set of beautifully bound red books and all her stories were written to both educate and entertain at the same time.
photo courtesy expertissim®
Inspired by these popular children’s books and the adventures of their characters, Philippe Dumas beautifully captures the essence of some of these beloved stories in his equally beloved scarf…
Here the eldest child, Félicie of a rich family, the d’Orvillet, is in trouble with her governess (once again); with little lasting effect, as the story goes…
For me it is unthinkable not to fall in love with this scarf each and every time.
Beautifully executed, it is difficult to just quickly glance at it. To not get involved with the various characters and not follow them along on their adventures? Well, for me that is utterly impossible!
