Sodom and Gomorrah IV pp 177-95

p 189 | Jojotte...: nickname of portrait painter Georges Clarin (1843-1919), who signed the first petition in favor of Dreyfus, after Zola’s “J’accuse” was published. He frequently painted Sarah Bernhardt. (Sturrock)

Atlantic auger 0008 by Edward T. Babinski

 p 190 | "...crenellated turret of its shell...

p 191 | Cours-la-Reine: avenue that runs along the Seine between the Place de la Concorde and the Grand-Palais. (Sturrock)

p 191 | "Beauvais armchair illustrating the Rape of Europa...": this chair and this 1747 painting by François Boucher: 

p 191-2|"... pictures of society...": Does this refer to Proust's first book, Pleasures and Regrets ? (full French text of Les Plaisirs et les Jours is here)

p 193 | The Consulate ran from 1799 to 1804, with Napoleon the de facto ruler of France as First Consul…; the Direc­tory had lasted from 1795 to the coup d’état of November 1799, when Napoleon seized power. The two regimes fostered distinct cultural styles. (Sturrock)

Firebird by Bakst

p 193 |Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes created a sensation in Paris from their first appearance there in 1909. Léon Bakst (1866-1924) was the foremost designer of their sets and costumes; Vaslav Nijinsky (1890-1950) was the most celebrated Russian male dancer; Alexandre Benois (1870-1960) was a painter who also designed stage sets; Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) wrote some of his best-known music for Diaghilev, notably The Firebird and The Rite of Spring; Princess Yourbeletieff is an invented character. (Sturrock)

 p 193 | Aigrette (from the French for egret) refers to the tufted crest or head-plumes of the egret, used for adorning a headdress; also, any similar ornament made of gems.

p 194 | Avatar: A temporary manifestation or aspect of a continuing entity, i.e., occultism in its present avatar.

p 195 |"... gimlet eyes of nationalist ladies..." : sharp or piercing, as this tool.

p 195 | While searching for the Princesse d'Epinoy, I found this wonderful essay on nobility and titles in France.