Henri de Lutteroth

‘Monsieur de Lutteroth happened to be at the same ball. He was a dreadful fop and was - very rightly - disliked by everyone who knew him. He came attired as 'A Son of the Night'! The man who wore this costume was a fool, but the costume itself was magnificent. It consisted of voluminous sapphire-blue breeches, embroidered in silver and veiled with tulle of the same shade. The sapphire-blue jacket was also veiled with tulle and strewn with diamonds, and it was fastened with a superb crescent made of diamonds. People stood in rows to see him pass by, and incredible as it may seem, though they looked upon him as an object of ridicule - and made no secret of it - he thought they were not only admiring him, but envying him into the bargain!’

[An extract from the first volume of Princess Metternich's memoirs, My Years in Paris.]

Photographed by Disdéri of Paris.