The Hôtel du Timbre, full name Hôtel du Timbre, de l'Enregistrement et des Domaines (), is a public building on 9–13, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Originally built as a facility to produce

stamped paper Stamped paper is an often- foolscap piece of paper which bears an imprinted revenue stamp. Mackay, James. ''Philatelic Terms Illustrated''. 4th edition. London: Stanley Gibbons, 2003, p. 147. Stamped papers are not a form of postal stationery ...

(), it was in its time one of the largest manufacturing sites in Paris.

Overview

The Hôtel du Timbre was created as part of the larger urban development project associated with the northwards extension of the ''rue de la Banque'', initiated by royal decree of 1844 on land previously used in part by the convent of

discalced Augustinians The Order of Discalced Augustinians (; abbreviation: OAD) is a mendicant order that branched off from the Order of Saint Augustine as a reform movement. History During the Counter-Reformation, there was a special interest among the Augustinian ...

(of which the church survives as Notre-Dame-des-Victoires). The land stood between the

Bank of France The Bank of France ( ) is the national central bank for France within the Eurosystem. It was the French central bank between 1800 and 1998, issuing the French franc. It does not translate its name to English, and thus calls itself ''Banque de F ...

, from which the street derived its name, and the stock exchange building, in the heart of what was then Paris's financial district. As part of that endeavor, architect designed three prominent public buildings intended to be erected simultaneously, namely the Hôtel du Timbre on the new street's western side, and on the western side, the

town hall of Paris 2nd arrondissement The town hall of the second arrondissement of Paris () is the former town hall of the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, at 8 rue de la Banque in Paris. It is one of only four ''mairies d'arrondissement'' built before the Second French Empire, together ...

and adjacent

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

for the . The Hôtel du Timbre was initially intended as a facility to produce and sell stamped paper which at the time was widely used for a number of administrative and commercial proceedings. As such, it replaced a previous ''hôtel du timbre'' that stood on

rue de la Paix The Rue de la Paix (English: Peace Street; ) is a fashionable shopping street in the centre of Paris. Located in the 2nd arrondissement, running north from the Place Vendôme and ending at the Opéra Garnier, it is best known for its jewellers ...

on the location of the former

Couvent des Capucines The Couvent des Capucines (Convent of the Capucins) is a former convent of the Order of the Capuchin Poor Clares, located in Paris on the site of the current Place Vendôme. The convent was built by Marie of Luxembourg, Duchess of Penthièvre, M ...

. The importance of the stamp () administration was enhanced by the adoption of new legislation on that established a

stamp duty Stamp duty is a tax that is levied on single property purchases or documents (including, historically, the majority of legal documents such as cheques, receipts, military commissions, marriage licences and land transactions). Historically, a ...

of 0.5 percent on transactions on stocks, bonds, and insurance policy, and 0.05 percent on government debt instruments. After Lelong died in 1846,

Victor Baltard Victor Baltard (; 9 June 180513 January 1874) was a French architect famed for work in Paris including designing Les Halles market and the Saint-Augustin church. Life Victor was born in Paris, son of architect Louis-Pierre Baltard and attended ...

replaced him as project architect and brought the building to completion. The corresponding civil service relocated from the rue de la Paix in 1848, and the complex was eventually completed in 1852. The building complex occupies a length of 114 meters on rue de la Banque, punctuated by several pavilions. The central pavilion, ostensibly inspired by

church architecture Church architecture refers to the architecture of Christian buildings, such as Church (building), churches, chapels, convents, and seminaries. It has evolved over the two thousand years of the Christian religion, partly by innovation and partly ...

, displays two allegorical

medallion A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be in ...

s with figures representing, respectively, Security and Law, sculpted by

Eugène André Oudiné Eugène André Oudiné (1 January 1810, Paris – 12 April 1887, Paris) was a French sculptor and engraver of medals and coins, and devoted himself from the beginning to the medallist's branch of sculpture, although he also excelled in monumenta ...

. Between those two, a monumental inscription reading "TIMBRE IMPERIAL MDCCCL" () which referenced both the applicable legislation (law of ) and the imperial regime that was in place by the time of completion in 1852. Because of their political overtones, the lower two lines were later erased, leaving only the word "TIMBRE" visible. Above is a triangular

pediment Pediments are a form of gable in classical architecture, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the cornice (an elaborated lintel), or entablature if supported by columns.Summerson, 130 In an ...

sculpted by

Henri Alfred Jacquemart Henri Alfred Marie Jacquemart (; 24 February 1824 in Paris – 4 January 1896, in Paris), often known as Alfred Jacquemart, was a noted French sculptor and animalier. He usually signed his works: ''A. Jacquemart''. Jacquemart studied under painte ...

. the Hôtel du Timbre was used by the stamp duty administration until 1973, and subsequently became a local office of the French tax authorities until 2023. It eventually reached a total floor size of about ten thousand square meters. In 2022, the Hôtel du Timbre was auctioned away by the French government. It was purchased in early 2023 by

Covéa Covéa is a French mutual insurance company that covers property, liability and reinsurance businesses headquartered in Paris. It was formed from the merger of three separate French mutual insurance companies ''Garantie Mutuelle des Fonctionnair ...

, an insurance company. In late 2023, a project was approved to convert it into mixed-usage including offices,

coworking Coworking is an arrangement in which workers for different companies share an office space. It allows cost savings and convenience through the use of common infrastructures, such as equipment, utilities and receptionist and custodial services, a ...

spaces, apartments, restaurant and retail commerce, on a design by architects Perrot & Richard and Asphalt.

References

{{coord, 48.8673, 2.3403, type:landmark_region:FR, display=title Buildings and structures in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris Ministry of Finance (France)

Overview

See also

References