This magazine, which has been surfing the web since 1996, certainly doesn't look its age. We look back at the birth and history of a flagship title in the art market.
The first issue entitled Gazette de l'hôtel Drouot was published on Tuesday, February 24, 1891. On its cover, reproduced today on the back of the magazine, we see the number "14"—not "1". A mistake? Not at all! The "Special daily magazine of public sales" was actually first published on Sunday, February 8 and Monday, February 9, 1891, under the title L'Hôtel Drouot . The reason for the change was clearly stated: "Through long use, this title of the Hôtel Drouot has become the property of the establishment belonging to the gentlemen auctioneers of Paris [...] We soon realized that the administration of the Hôtel Drouot magazine could be mistaken for that of the real Hôtel Drouot, for example, and we wished to avoid this confusion." Strangely, the name of the owner (and thus founder) of this new daily did not feature in the publication. The only person mentioned was the director, Charles Oudart: an auctioneer who remained in charge until 1900. This omission explains why the Bibliotheque National de France (French National Library) credits him with creating the title. So who really…
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