An old store façade in Bordeaux, At The Russian Boar

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Although this façade is obviously from the end of the Second French Empire or the beginning of the third Republic, an inscription tells «Factory of brushes and paintbrushes founded in 1814», id est during the First Empire, just after the campaign of Napoleon in Russia. The campaign ended by a retreat leaving thousands of soldiers died from hunger and cold in Russia, so the reference to Russia was perhaps not the best to establish a business at this time. But it was a good name for a factory of brushes : since the mid-18th C the hair of Russian boars was famous to make the best hair brushes and paintbrushes. They are still the best : a boar-bristle brush prevents stretching and breaking hair and a boar-bristle paintbrush spreads the paint better than any other one and does not fray. In 1814 boar bristle brushes were a bit too expensive for common people, but Bordeaux had (and still has) a wealthy middle-class ready to buy luxury items without looking at the price, so the customers were potentially present in the city. Bordeaux had another asset for such a factory, it was the main port of entry in France for precious woods and ivory : for a hair brush you do not need only the hair of a boar, you need also to make a handle. Two centuries later The Russian Boar is still there and prosperous despite of its outdated façade. Indeed, it has evolved and offers now brushes in animal as well as in synthetic hair. The main source of boar hair is now China which also offers cheap hair-bristle brushes, but beware, if they are too cheap they can be fake and made with synthetic hair. There is an infallible test : burn a hair or two with a match, if it smells like plastic and not like BBQ, you have been tricked ! As Father’s day is approaching, maybe I can give you an idea, ladies, if your husband wears a beard : a boar-bristle brush for beard, a successful article at the Russian Boar actually. Have you a boar hair brush ?