[An illustration of a ship, symbolizing the symbol of Paris]

Histoire de Paris

L’invention des fiacres
Vers 1612 un facteur du maître des coches d’Amiens, Nicolas Sauvage, loua ici, une grande maison, à l’enseigne de saint Fiacre, ce carme déchaussé qui avait prédit à Anne d’Autriche la naissance d’un fils. La vénération qu’on lui portait était si grande que tous les cochers collèrent sur leurs voitures l’effigie du bienheureux, comme garantie contre les accidents. Et depuis ce temps, les carrosses de louage s’appellent des fiacres. A la veille de la Révolution, il y en a environ 800, répartis en 33 stations, plus 650 carrosses de remise. Les cochers ont une réputation détestable, et la préfecture de police tente d’exercer sur eux un contrôle très strict: chaque voiture doit posséder son numéro, acheté fort cher à la Ville, son livret de maître et son permis de station et de circulation. A son apogée vers 1900, le fiacre à cheval connaît ensuite un déclin rapide, concurrencé par le véhicule à traction automobile, vite dénommé "taxauto" puis "taxi", par abréviation de taximètre (Larousse, 1906).

One of the series of signs describing historical places in Paris. The signs were placed starting in 1992 and are also called sucettes Starck (Starck’s Lollipops) after Philippe Starck who designed them.
The sign also indicates the origin of the name "Taxi" for a taxi

The sign is located where the Carriage for Rent venture started by Nicholas Sauvage.

The place where the sign is located was photographed on the same day Click for a larger image

Translation of the text on the sign:

[An illustration of a ship, symbolizing the symbol of Paris]

History of Paris

The invention of carriage for hire
Around 1612 a factor of the coach master of Amiens, Nicolas Sauvage, rented a large house here, with the sign of Saint Fiacre, this shoeless Carmelite who predicted the birth of a son to Anne of Austria. The veneration shown to him was so great that all the coachmen stuck the effigy of the blessed man on their carriages, as a guarantee against accidents. And since that time, rental carriages have been called fiacres. On the eve of the Revolution, there were around 800, divided into 33 stations, plus 650 carriages. Coachmen have a detestable reputation, and the police headquarters tries to exercise very strict control over them: each car must have its number, purchased at great cost from the City, its master’s book and its station and circulation permit. At its peak around 1900, the horse-drawn cab then experienced a rapid decline, in competition with the automobile-powered vehicle, quickly called "taxauto" then "taxi", an abbreviation for taximeter (Larousse, 1906).